


Before MEKA (old, please see summary)

by bunbunbuns



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotions, F/M, Fun, Gaming, Gen, Humor, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Suicide, K-pop References, Korean Characters, Original Character(s), Other, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Recall, Swearing, eSports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 53,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9412022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunbunbuns/pseuds/bunbunbuns
Summary: Song Hana aka D.Va. A celebrated... well... celebrity would be the best word. Before and after MEKA everyone loved her and gave her adoration. But everyone's career starts somewhere.Note: Story will have different POVs not just D.va's and has a HEAVY focus on esports.I began making this world and the characters before Michael Chu made it clear that D.Va is not a pro Starcraft player. Because they have never named the game she was a pro in, I will continue to use Starcraft for the story to have a more solid grounding. I don't want to be referencing a game that doesn't have a name because it would get really difficult.Note after D.Va short released: Because I prefer having my story contain canon elements as well as my own ideas, I have to re-create the world and characters I have made. It hurts to let this original story go, but I am sure I can make something more interesting





	1. The MEKA Unit

**Author's Note:**

> I am aware my writing is childish, simple, and quite boring but that's how it is.
> 
> Things to know before reading: I am using Korean age versus international age, I have a vast knowledge on esports so what I write is as accurate as it is, and I know a lot about Korean culture and society and translating it to what it might be like in the future.
> 
> I am aware not everyone reading has a vast knowledge on esports. If there are any questions, please ask and I will add them in the notes at the end of chapters.
> 
> I have a tendency to think of certain lines in Korean because it feels natural and normal, HOWEVER, translating those words and feelings becomes difficult. I will try my best to clarify anything but it's gonna be a bit difficult. KEEP IN MIND some things are going to be written for a western audience so some things may not be "accurate"
> 
> For questions, suggestions, inquiries, etc please leave them at: midsummersdream10.tumblr.com (it will be easier for me to keep track of)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet MEKA

Song Hana. Age 20. Nationality Korean. Occupation MEKA pilot. Formerly a Starcraft pro. Team… A lot of different teams. Contract changed so often it’s hard to keep up. Not that any of us have to worry about that anymore.

“SONG HANAAAAAAAAA!” The headset crackled and everyone in visible range winced. “GET INTO THE OFFICE RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO HAVE ANOTHER TALK ABOUT-” Hana sighed as she reached to turn off her headset and placed it around her neck. The walk to the office is enough time to prepare for whatever it was this time.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad this time.” A familiar hand grabbed her shoulder. “You haven’t broken any rules lately.”

“Thanks Tae Yeon unnie…” A list of possible reasons she was being called popped into her head.

“Of course.” Tae Yeon nodded and put her headset back on. Her pink uniform would have matched with Hana’s. Turning on her heel she walked back to the rest of her team.

Sighing wasn’t going to help the situation, but Hana couldn’t stop doing it. Under her breath she counted the number of steps left to the office.

* * *

 

“Jae Young… don’t be mean ok? She’s only a kid.” It didn’t matter what she said, he was still going to pace back and forth.

“Eun Ji we’re all kids!” Jae Young’s fingers ran through his hair. “They assigned two twenty-seven year olds to be in charge of an entire military unit simply because we were the “best” at what we do.”

The air quotes made Eun Ji to softly grumble. “Don’t give me that tone. We still have superiors it’s not like we have to do everything here.”

“Yes but they put kids in charge of kids!” Frustration came out with a bang on the desk. Eun Ji sighed and looked out the window. Mechs were flying around and dummies were shot down.

A faint knock came from the door. “Um… I’m here…” Hana cautiously walked through the door. No one liked seeing them fight and they didn’t like showing it.

“Hana come in.” Eun Ji kept her face to the window. “You’re not-”

“Hana what are you wearing?” Jae Young didn’t wait for Eun Ji to finish speaking. Eun Ji rolled her eyes and kept looking out.

“I’m… wearing my uniform…”

“No… You’re wearing YOUR uniform. What happened to our uniform?” The sharp voice was one Hana heard many times. “There is almost no padding to keep you safe from impacts and general use of the mechs.”

“I… thought this would be cuter for…”

“I don’t give a damn if you look like some cute, kpop, MEKA pilot!” Jae Young slammed the desk again. “You asked for extra padding on the mech parts where you took out padding from your uniform. Do you know that you have the most expensive mech out of everyone?”

There was nothing Hana could say to get out of this one. The best idea would be to just let the storm go through. “Yes sir… I am aware…”

“I know they let us customize our mechs and all of us stream just like you do, but you are asking for more than what is necessary!” A drawer opened and quickly shut with a pile of papers coming out of it. “Disco lights, programmed dancing, extra LED lights, painting the mech pink, a projector to play games, not only that but your streaming equipment is more expensive than everyone else’s! Now you want extra padding because you changed your uniform to look cuter?”

Hearing her mech changes outloud made Hana wince. “Yes sir… I can change it back if you want me to…”

Jae Young let out an exasperated sigh. His head rest in his hands as he tried to calm down before speaking again.

“Hana… You realize you have become the face of MEKA?” Eun Ji turned her head to look back at Hana. “It’s understandable why. You’re the best of the best and people are always attracted to whoever is at the top.” Slowly turning her body to face Hana, Eun Ji gave a faint smile. “There is nothing wrong with being in the spotlight and being who you are but at the same time your comrades are not you. People do not always think and will jump to the conclusion that all of MEKA is like you.” Eun Ji took two steps forward to sit on the desk. “You’re going to keep the changes you’ve made just… Realize what being in the spotlight means. For your future and MEKA’s future.” The smile was more genuine now and the soft spoken voice made Hana feel relaxed.

“Yes ma’am. I’ll stop making so many changes to my stuff. I’m sorry.” Hana took a glance at Jae Young. His head was still cradled in his hands and his mouth shut tight.

“You can go now Hana. Finish up today’s duties please.”

Hana stood up and saluted. “Yes ma’am!” Without a second look she scurried out of the office.

Tick tock. The wall clock swung back and forth as the room filled with silence.

“Jae Young.”

Mouth still shut tight Jae Young looked up to Eun Ji.

“The uniform does look cuter.”

“Oh not you too.” The chair screeched as he quickly pushed back to stand up. “If her mech ever self destructs we have to pay more money for her new one. The padding is on the uniforms for a reason.” Looking out the window he could see Hana getting into her mech and taking off. “Of course she knows that too and would never have her mech self destruct.”

“Well it’s not like this is something that happens often.”

“But it happens.”

Silence fell upon the room once more. Eun Ji shook her head as she stood up. Without a word she grabbed her headset and walked out the door. It was better to leave than to try and talk it out. She placed the headset on her head and pressed to speak with MEKA. “Carbon Fiber unit please report to east side sheds. White Rabbit unit please report with us as well. We will be testing out the new cannons today.”

* * *

 

“Unnie! How are the new cannons?” Hana jogged over to Tae Yeon who was leaving the east side shed. “Do you think we’ll all get them or just some of us or…”

Giggling at Hana, Tae Yeon gently pushed Hana out of her way. “Slow down! They’re just prototypes and they still need improvements before using them in combat. What we have now is enough.”

“I’m so jealous! I wanted to try them out too.”

“Well… You could have…” Tae Yeon fidgeted with her gloves looking away from Hana.

“I… know… Sorry…”

“Hana… People are different and some work better with others.”

“Not me…” Another depressing conversation today. “Unnie, everyone knows you’re the only one who gets along with me in a team.”

“That’s because I’m used to you.” The gloves came off as well as her headset. “We were on the same Starcraft team. I know that you can be a little… selfish.” There was a smirk on Tae Yeon’s face.

“Stop it.” Hana playfully punched Tae Yeon’s arm. “It’s just… upsetting that I can’t get along with a team on MEKA.”

Tae Yeon stopped in her tracks and grabbed Hana by the shoulders. “Hana. You know why you’re not a team right?”

“I’m a bad team player sometimes and try to take all the glory for myself because I’m selfish and don’t let my teammates help me sometimes…” Tae Yeon raised an eyebrow. “Almost all the time and no one wants to be teammates with someone who’s selfish and inconsiderate of others.”

“Hana. You know why you’ve been kicked out of every single team on MEKA. And because you know your weaknesses you can become even better and stronger”

“Well it’s taking a long time!”

“You didn’t become the number one esports athlete overnight.”

Hana looked away from Tae Yeon’s ‘you know I’m right’ look. “I know…”

“Good.” A smile grew on Tae Yeon’s face. “Now let’s go debrief. I wanna hear what Jae Young oppa is gonna yell about this time.”

The two laughed as they walked back to the main building. “Don’t call him oppa on duty. He’ll make us miss dinner because he’ll start yelling about that.”

Tae Yeon let out a snort and quickly covered her mouth. “I can call him oppa whenever I want and he can’t do anything about it.”

* * *

 

Beanbags, chairs, empty soda cans, and bags of shrimp chips and onion rings littered the community room. It basically became the living room for MEKA after just a few weeks of the military unit coming into existence. It was large enough to hold everyone in the unit at the same time. One corner was dedicated to PCs and was closest to the modem. There was a small kitchen at the opposite corner that held everyone’s snacks. Everyone had a cabinet to store snacks which made the kitchen quite large but small in comparison to the rest of the room. Chairs and tables moved around the room and changed position daily. A few small TV screens scattered the east wall with a few consoles for people to play. The west side wall had a large TV screen where groups played games together. Today was especially crowded because Tae Yeon suggested playing Super Smash.

“Eat shit hyung!”

“That’s no way to speak to your hyung and to someone who is going to win!”

“Noona team up with me!”

“No way I’m going to win on my own!”

“Unnie watch out!”

The military spent a lot of money to be able to provide good internet for MEKA. Hana looked up for a bit and back down to her phone. She wanted to get a higher score on previous levels in her game.

“What are you playing?”

Hana looked up to see Eun Ji sitting across from her. “Oh uh… Hi unnie.”

Eun Ji laughed and took a chip. “That’s not a game.”

“Oh um it’s just a matching game.” Hana turned her phone to show Eun Ji her game.

“Ah that game is very popular amongst subway travelers. Mindless fun but I’m sure your name is already on the top of the scoreboard.” Taking one more chip Eun Ji slid her finger across the screen and watched as the board cleared with matches.

“Yeah I got there after a few days of grinding since I started the game late. It’s really nice for when there are short breaks and…” Hana stopped short and turned the phone back to her. “Oh sorry um…”

“Why? It’s a game and if you enjoy playing it that’s all that matters.” Eun Ji took another chip and laughed. “I’ll buy you a new bag of chips.”

“Unnie…” Hana paused her game and put her phone face down.

“Hmm?”

“Does… Jae Young oppa hate me?”

Eun Ji stopped mid bite of her next chip and looked up at Hana. The sound of buttons being mashed and keyboards clicking took over for a second. “Hana I’ve told you this so many times already. He doesn’t hate you.”

Hana grabbed a handful of the chips and shoved a few into her mouth. “I… It just feels like… I mean I know he doesn’t but…”

Hearing Eun Ji laugh got Hana to drop her shoulders. The first sigh of relief coming from her that day. “They asked a bunch of proud, stubborn, ambitious children to join the military.” Eun Ji fiddled with the ring on her right hand. “While we knew what that meant, we didn’t really know. Everyone’s plans and lives changed so quickly.” The ring was a simple silver one. Some days it was on her hand and other days it was worn as a necklace tucked away. “It’s only been a few months we’re just… All still getting used to living as soldiers.” Eun Ji’s gaze fell to the group playing Super Smash Bros on the largest TV screen in the room. “I’m sure in five years things will be different.”

The victory screen popped up and a mixture of cheers and groans waved through the room. Tae Yeon jumped up and cheered for her victory with one of the worst characters. “Five years is a long time. Do you really think it’ll be that long?”

“There are people out there who have been fighting for their entire life.”

The group playing Super Smash all exchanged controllers to anyone who was waiting. Chatter of what new rules to place and which stages should be banned came up from the new players. Tae Yeon stood up from the middle with her controller held high. “I’m getting food, someone take this.” It didn’t take long for the controller to be taken from her hands.

“Ahem.” From the second floor balcony Jae Young leaned on the railing and surveyed the scene.

Rushing to stand up, Eun Ji looked at Hana and spoke in a hushed tone. “And that is my cue. Whoops.” She stuck her tongue out and quickly made her way to the stairs.

“Everyone better clean up this mess by tonight.” Jae Young’s face scrunched up seeing the chaos in the room. “We’re going to to sleep early and get up early tomorrow.”

“What’s up oppa? Afraid we’ll become raccoons?” Tae Yeon grinned ear to ear as she shoved a spoon into the bowl of ice cream in her hands. Chuckles waved over the room and some covered their mouth to stop laughing.

Jae Young sighed and quickly ran his hand through his hair. “No amount of makeup is going to hide the fact that you’re already a raccoon Tae Yeon.” This time the room roared with giggles and snorts. Tae Yeon laughed with everyone else, making a punching motion towards Jae Young. Hana tried to keep it in but ended up joining everyone else.

“Anyways…” The room hushed as eyes turned back to Jae Young. Eun Ji now stood next to him waiting for him to speak. “Generals of different military branches as well as the Minister of National Defense are coming to visit tomorrow.” A heavy air settled into the room. “I know we’ve all met the other branches before as well as the Minister at least once. This time shouldn’t be so bad.” Mumbles and whispers came from various patches around the room. “It will be a simple visit just to make sure everything is up to the standards of the military.” The concerns of the room began to grow as the mumbles became more vocal. Jae Young’s eyes shifted over to Eun Ji who was standing straighter for the nervous unit.

“Everyone please settle down.” Chatter began to diminish again as heads turned to Eun Ji. “We all know our first meeting was not optimal. However, within these months we have all grown our skills to create a better MEKA team. The idea of sending off professional esports athletes to the military seemed ridiculous and many thought that entertainment and the economy would suffer. We can now see that it is not a ridiculous idea as we are the ones with the highest ability to control the mechs. Citizens have found ways to continue to watch and enjoy esports and allowing many rookies to enter the competitive scene.” There were nods of acknowledgment and a few whispers. “As for improving MEKA we have established different team units and have several different plans for the various situations of the omnic attack. Within these months we have been able to stop and de-escalate over three major omnic attacks and five minor attacks. I have full faith in our ability to show the military how much we have grown. Together as a team and as a family.”

Jae Young held his breath and glanced over at Eun Ji. Her shoulders pulled back and had a lack of breathing as well. Tae Yeon slammed her bowl of empty ice cream on the counter. “So what if we disappointed the entire military? We were new and inexperienced. Unnie is right. We’re better and stronger! Come on everyone stand up.” Tae Yeon ran around the room grabbing people's arms and throwing them onto their feet. “Who are we?”

The room’s gloomy feeling lifted up one at a time. “We are MEKA!”

“Which country do we serve?”

“Dae han min guk!” Followed by five rhythmic claps. Soon the whole room was chanting.

Jae Young and Eun Ji looked at each other and let out a heavy exhale. They exchanged a smile and looked back at the rest of the MEKA team.

Hana laughed as Tae Yeon pulled her out of her chair. “Come on where’s your spirit?”

The chanting grew and began to devolve into noise. The room was back to its chaotic nature. “Ok ok everyone calm down.” Jae Young’s voice rang above the chanting. “Thank you Tae Yeon for the… excitement.”

“I gotchu oppa!”

“Anyways… I want everyone to clean this room up. Make sure to do a last minute check on equipment and your mech before heading to bed. Please be up by five.” Groans came up from the group as they started to get up and clean.

Eun Ji covered her mouth and giggled. “Everyone have a good night.”

Hana finished her chips and tossed the bag into the garbage. A quick glance around to make sure she picked up all of her belongings before heading out to her mech.

* * *

 

“Do you really think we’ll be fine?” Jae Young fell into his chair and grabbed a pen to make a note.

Eun Ji closed the office door behind her and leaned against the wall. “Absolutely. We’ve only had a few major incidents and those mech pilots have fully recovered and are back at home for the time being.”

The thought of the accidents made Jae Young wince. Scribbling down reminders for the next day on a post-it note. “Hopefully with the mech improvements and ours that won’t happen again.” His gaze fell onto the framed photo on the desk.

“Our last outing proved the improvements worked.” Eun Ji followed his gaze to the photo.

A brightly lit stage blazed in the background. The photo showed a younger Jae Young and Eun Ji standing next to each other on the stage. The bright red SKT jackets they once wore with pride were brand new in the photo. The two of them awkwardly smiling at the camera as the crowd cheered in the background.

“I heard the new SKT SMITE team is doing well.” The pencil was thrown across the desk. Jae Young turned his chair away from the photo and Eun Ji. He covered his face with one hand and the other tapped on the desk. “Sometimes… I wonder where things will go.” Eun Ji pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the other side of the desk. “Do you think we’ll play again?”

“Maybe.” Eun Ji kneeled in front of Jae Young and peeled his hand away from his face. His eyes shined in the moonlight. “Whatever happens in the future happens. Today is today and we can worry about our future when the time comes closer.” Her thumbs gently pushed the tears away from under Jae Young’s eyes. “Everyone misses doing what they love.”

Jae Young grabbed Eun Ji’s hands as he let out a sharp sigh. “I… I’m sorry…”

A tear rolled down Eun Ji’s face. Slowly she pressed her forehead against Jae Young’s. “Please… Don’t be sorry…”

Jae Young’s breathing grew unsteady as he began to quietly sob.

* * *

 

Mic properly positioned and functioning. Joysticks moved smoothly with little resistance. Defense matrix activated with a simple press. The programmed dancing worked as intended.

“Hana.”

The voice made Hana jerk her head to the entrance. Tae Yeon leaned against the gaping door. “How’s the eject?”

“I’m checking it now.” With a push of a button the mech backdoor flung open. Hana tucked herself as the mech spit her out of the pilot seat. “Fully functional unnie.”

“Good.” As Hana powered her mech down she approached Tae Yeon. “You know oppa and unnie are most worried about that part.” Tae Yeon stepped over to Hana’s mech and ran her hand up the leg. “Wouldn’t want mom and dad to worry about the kids right?”

“Oh my god don’t call them that!” She still ended up laughing at the joke. “They’re not even married!”

Tae Yeon shrugged as she turned to leave. “They basically are and we are their kids.” The two turned the lights down and shut the hanger doors behind them. “I mean… If they weren’t appointed as generals who would be more fit?”

A snort escaped Hana as she rolled her eyes. “If they’re mom and dad I guess that makes you the annoying unnie.”

“Woah I am not!” Playfully pushing Hana away from her. “I guess that makes you the rotten one in this family.”

The two laughed as they rambled off different comrades and their roles in the MEKA family. Lights around the base turned off one at a time while the two chattered away.

* * *

 

“General Kim Eun Ji and General Park Jae Young I’m glad to see massive improvements within the MEKA unit.” Eun Ji and Jae Young tailed behind several other generals and the Minister as he inspected details of the facility. “I would like to speak with Lieutenant General Lee Tae Yeon when the time is right.”

“Yes sir.” The two have grown used to speaking at the same time.

“What is everyone’s ranking in MEKA?” The Minister paused before leaving the door to the practice field.

Eun Ji stepped forward to speak. “Choi Dae Sung also now shares the title of Lieutenant General with Lee Tae Yeon. Kang Mi Sook, Im Young Hwa, Jeon Sun Hee, and Yoon Kyung Tae have been ranked as-”

“What about Song Hana?” The Minister turned to look at Eun Ji. “Isn’t she the one who’s considered the best in MEKA?”

“Um…” Eun Ji’s mouth hung open.

“She’s the one who streams and has lots of donations right? Those have helped us tremendously. The whole nation seems to watch when she’s out fighting.”

Jae Young stepped forward next to Eun Ji. “Yes sir that is her.”

The Minister raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Shouldn’t she at least be given the ranking of Lieutenant General?”

“Sir, we cannot give her the ranking of Lieutenant General.” The Minister didn’t look happy with the simple answer. Jae Young cleared his throat and continued. “Song Hana is a talented MEKA pilot, however lacks the leadership skills to be ranked any higher than she is right now.”

Still unsatisfied with the answer, the Minister nodded and opened the door out to the practice field. Eun Ji glanced at Jae Young and gave his hand a small squeeze and whispered. “We’ll be fine.”

* * *

 

The clock read fourteen o’clock. Lunch ended and everyone slowly walked out to their mechs to continue training. As groups leaked out of the room, Hana continued to sit at her table. The Minister wasn’t as scary today but lunch was very awkward for everyone. When the room only had a few people left, Hana got up and put her dishes away. The afternoon was usually dedicated to teams working on new strategies to cover weaknesses and strengths. Mumbling under her breath Hana grabbed her headset and placed it around her neck. “I guess I can stream my practice today…”

In the hanger Hana’s mech was sitting by itself. Hopping in she turned on her stream before anything else. “Annyeong!” Waiting a few seconds, her subscribers slowly showed up one after another. “I know this isn’t scheduled but I decided to show off practice today!” Nobody had to know she didn’t have a team but at the same time many outside of MEKA knew. Starting up her mech Hana led it out of the hanger and into the air.

* * *

 

Eun Ji and Jae Young stood in the office as the Minister and generals rambled off concerns and suggestions. The two typed everything spoken to them to review later.

The Minister nodded at what was being said and took a quick glance at the photo on the desk. Clearing his throat he stood up from the chair. “Overall, I say you two have done a spectacular job at bringing MEKA together. MEKA is doing the job better than the drones we used to have.”

“Thank you sir.” Both bowing at the compliment.

“We have nothing else to look over today. Please continue to do your work.” The Minister nodded and turned to leave the office.

“Yes sir.” The generals saluted to Eun Ji and Jae Young while the two saluted back.

Once everyone left the two collapsed into their chairs. “Thank goodness…” Jae Young spun a pen around in his hand. “I couldn’t breathe…”

“I told you we would be fine.” Eun Ji threw her gloves off and lifted her legs to rest on the desk.

A snicker came from Jae Young as he tossed the pen onto the desk. “You were shaking like a dog that came out of a frozen river.”

Eun Ji rolled her eyes as she placed her feet at the edge of the desk. “Shut up.” She lightly pushed the desk off to the side.

“Are you trying to make me have to rearrange the room?” Now on his feet, Jae Young pushed the desk back and pulled up a screen. Eun Ji stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed her headset. “It’s already eighteen o’clock.”

“Are you gonna call it a day so you can grab the first shot of the night?” Pulling up the same screen as Jae Young, she tapped to override all headsets.

Jae Young tapped to override as well and shook his head. “You know me too well.”

The two laughed and Eun Ji shook her head. On the screen she tapped the mic and began to speak. “All MEKA teams please wrap up all activity and come back to base.” Through the headset the two could hear concern coming from the team leaders.

“No one is in trouble, we just have a few announcements to make.” Jae Young was smiling behind the screen as he shut it down. Taking the headset off and placing it on the table, Jae Young pushed Eun Ji’s screen away. “Come on I like seeing them confused.”

* * *

 

The only screen that was on was the large TV. It wasn’t even showing a game but it showed two news anchors sharing the latest world news. No one was paying attention, it merely filled the quiet room with some noise.

Hana flopped into a beanbag chair next to Tae Yeon and a few other people. “Are we gonna try and guess what’s going on?”

Tae Yeon shook her head. “They don’t call them milkshake for no reason…” She took a glance over to the boy next to her. “What do you think Dae Sung?”

He silently thought for a bit before speaking. “I don’t think any of us would be this confused and nervous if Eun Ji was the one telling us we weren’t in trouble.” He adjusted himself in the bean bag chair to lean forward in the circle of people. “But they switched the roles on us and now no one knows what will happen.”

“Dae Sung oppa.” Hana lightly kicked at his foot. Dae Sung looked up at Hana tilting his head to the side. “Do you think our inspection went well?”

Before Dae Sung could give his input, footsteps from the balcony echoed. Heads turned to see Eun Ji out of uniform and in her casual clothes. Jeans, a baggy shirt, mint wedges, and a purse hanging from her shoulder. “I’m going to make a few announcements and then we can go.” Despite the sun setting Eun Ji had large sunglasses on. She lifted them on top of her head and waited for a response.

Nobody spoke but exchanged looks at each other. Tae Yeon cleared her throat and stood to her feet. “Unnie!”

“Yes Tae Yeon?”

“You look like a model!” With that Dae Sung let a loud whistle and others began to cheer.

Eun Ji bowed and pushed her hair back. “Thank you Tae Yeon. Now please sit down.” Tae Yeon gave a bow and plopped back into the beanbag chair.

Another pair of footsteps came from the balcony. Jae Young leaned on the railing with equally large sunglasses on. He pushed his sunglasses unto the top of his head and opened his mouth.

Before he could speak Dae Sung burst out laughing. “Hyung, noona are you two going on a date and leaving us here?!” He fell over in his beanbag chair holding his sides.

“Ew seriously what is with that cheesy couples outfit?” Tae Yeon scrunched her face up in mock disgust. Jae Young was wearing the same shirt as Eun Ji and with a similar shade of jeans as her. The mint green Converse looked brand new and he even had a bag on his shoulder.

Quickly inspecting himself, Jae Young looked to Dae Sung and Tae Yeon and shrugged. “I thought I looked good but I guess you two are jealous that you’re still single.”

Hana was the first to burst into laughter as others began to join the choir of giggles and insults. Dae Sung rolled off his beanbag chair with tears in his eyes. “Hyung you’re fucking hilarious.” Catching his breath, he crawled back into the chair and took a deep breath. “Ok but seriously what is going on?”

“Good thing you asked.” Eun Ji smiled and took out a folded note from her purse. “Here are a few things the Minister said.” Before continuing the list she cleared her throat and took a breath. “He is very impressed with the MEKA unit’s large improvements from last time he vistied. The various teams and formations we currently have were proven extremely effective in the recent omnic attack and hopes we continue to make teams more coordinated.” A small cheer came from the corner of the room before dying out. “Generals from other branches talked with us about the possibility of future attacks and they predict there won’t be another one for quite a while.” Eun Ji shuffled down the page and continued. “The Navy has confirmed that the omnic is far offshore and even far out in the East sea which means we have plenty of time to develop new plans and try out new weapons and upgrades before the next attack.”

From the other corner of the room someone yelled, “Finally!”

Eun Ji nodded in agreement and went to the last point on the paper. “Because the Navy and Army have confirmed this they will be moving us back to the base in Busan.”

Hearing Busan made many gasp in the room, including Hana. She turned to Tae Yeon and whispered “Busan? Does that mean…”

Jae Young took over for Eun Ji pulling his sunglasses back onto his face. “We have one week to get to the Busan base. But we all know we could get there in less than an hour. So that means-”

“A vacation!” Sun Hee jumped up from the other side of the room and struck a pose. “We get a vacation right?”

Tae Yeon jumped to her feet next and pointed at Eun Ji and Jae Young. “We get a week vacation starting now and when we get to Busan we can visit friends and family right?”

Eun Ji made a gun out of her fingers and shot at Hana. “Bingo.”

The idea of a vacation was unreal to the room. There was some whispering and exclamations of disbelief. “No way this is happening…”

Jae Young let out a loud groan and pushed himself up from the railing. “Come on everyone! We don’t have all day! We only have a week and the reservation we placed isn’t going to last forever. Pack your things!”

“Wait!” Dae Sung and Tae Yeon shot their hands up. “What about our mechs?”

“Why do you think we asked you to finish early today?” Eun Ji was already turning to leave and pack up her belongings. “They will be moving them to Busan so when we get there we can start training again.” Briefly she turned back to look at everyone still in a state of shock and confusion. “Come on. The reservation is for twenty o’clock. Get packing and moving.” With that she walked away from the open room and towards the living quarters. Jae Young followed and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

The room continued to sit motionless. MEKA has never had a vacation since they started. “Well.” Tae Yeon stretched her arms and legs. “You heard them. Reservation won’t last forever. Let’s bust a move!” Hopping onto her feet she dashed off to the living quarters. It didn’t take long for everyone else to follow and gather their stuff.

* * *

 

The train ride was less than an hour to Busan. Korea became more mobile as technology grew but the destruction from omnic attacks was evident throughout the country. Hana walked down the aisle of the car and sat down next to Tae Yeon. “I haven’t been to Busan in such a long time.”

Tae Yeon watched the landscape pass by from the window. “Same… I wonder what’s been going on back at home.” A mountain with a carved out side zipped by. “I hope I have a chance to meet everyone. I just sent out a message to everyone on Kakao.” She stopped looking out and took out her phone. “Look all my friends are trying to meet up with me in the coming week.” The messages didn’t stop coming in. The screen stayed on with each new incoming message.

“Unnie you’re so popular.” Hana gave a playful nudge at Tae Yeon.

“So many of us came from Busan, I’m sure the whole city is planning our arrival.” Silencing her phone Tae Yeon tucked it away and reclined her chair back. “Let’s see how many people I can meet and how many love hotels I’ll leave.”

“UNNIE!” Hana slapped Tae Yeon’s arm trying to keep her voice down. No one paid attention to the sound of the slap. So many were eagerly discussing their plans for the vacation.

Tae Yeon laughed and pushed Hana back into her seat. “I’m joking about the last part. Maybe just once.” She winked and stuck her tongue out. “I gotta stay safe.”

“Oh my god unnie.” It hasn’t even been an hour and she was already planning if she was going to be at a love hotel or not. Hana shook her head to get rid of the idea of Tae Yeon doing anything explicit.

“After all… DVD rooms are cheaper.”

“Unnie shut up!” Hana continued to shake her head as Tae Yeon snickered at her.

A small screen popped up at the end of the car with a message on it. Soon a voice came from the speakers. “Ladies and Gentlemen. We are now approaching Busan. Please remain seated until we come to a stop. Thank you.”

Hana tilted her head to Tae Yeon and asked, “What kind of restaurant do you think we’ll be eating at?”

* * *

 

“Cheers!” Everyone held a shot of soju in the air and clinked together as many as they could. Not everyone could fit on one table, in fact the entire restaurant was reserved for MEKA. Bottles of soju littered the tables along with banchan and bowls of rice.

Jae Young stood up and gestured for everyone to quiet down. “After this week we will send thanks to the military for allowing us to have dinner here and for our vacation.” Everyone cheered and some poured another shot to down. “Now, we still have to get back to where we are staying so please do not get completely shit faced tonight.” The cheers were replaced with fake anger and a wave of boos.

“You have a week to get shit faced so no booing here please.” Eun Ji stood up next to Jae Young and took another shot. Some giggled at her second shot and hushed quickly. “With that being said, feel free to eat as much as you like since the meal is provided by the military. Before we get started does anyone have anything to say?”

Before anyone could go, Tae Yeon shot up with a bottle of soju in hand. “I want to say thank you.” Grabbing her shot glass she poured herself another shot. “Thank you to unnie and oppa for giving me my rank and for everyone else supporting me. Thank you to the White Rabbit team for letting me be their leader.” The shot was immediately consumed and she went to pour Eun Ji and Jae Young another shot. “That’s all I have to say.” With her final words Tae Yeon plopped back into her seat.

“Well,” Dae Sung stood up next with his shot in hand. “I would also like to thank hyung and noona for my rank. As well as the Carbon Fiber team for dealing with me.”

From one end someone cupped their mouth and yelled, “Yeah hyung! You’re a real pain in the ass.”

Dae Sung nodded to that and took his next shot. “I’m not even going to argue that.” Quickly he sat down to let others speak.

Most people got up to say short and silly things but in the end it was only a few people. Banchan was being replaced faster than the staff could work. Jae Young looked around the room to see if anyone else wanted to speak. “Anyone else?”

Hana looked around to see no one else getting up. “Um…” Without realizing it, her body was up from the chair. All eyes were on her waiting for her words. “I… um… Would like to thank the team for putting up with me.” She had no real plan to this mini speech. “I… I know I’m not a team because I drive everyone nuts so… thank you for not hating me.” The speech was weak and Hana knew it. Her hands quickly grabbed her empty shot and fumbled to grab the soju.

Another girl got up and gestured her shot to Hana. “We can’t hate you unnie. How else would we get good?”

The room filled with applause and laughter. Hana found herself joining in with everyone. This wasn’t supposed to be a serious night. She sat down and looked at Tae Yeon who gave her a thumbs up.

“Excuse me!” Eun Ji called over the staff. “Please bring the meat out!” The grills at tables began to start up as the plates of meat got passed out to each table. “Let’s eat!”

* * *

 

Bulgogi, samgyeopsal, galbi, garlic, lettuce, pajeori, various sauces, and soju were inhaled by the second. No one could stop trying different meats and having seafood cooked and devoured.

Tae Yeon raised her hand and called out for more lettuce. “Oh my god this place is amazing.”

“Pfft, you’re only saying that because we haven't had barbecue in forever.” Dae Sung shoved his lettuce wrap into his mouth.

“Oh shut up! This place is good and you know it. I bet you couldn’t find another restaurant better than this!” More lettuce came and Tae Yeon grabbed the bowl to place on the table.

“I’ll take that fucking bet and show you what real good Busan food is.”

Tae Yeon lightly slapped Dae Sung across the arm “I grew up here too dumbass.”

Sun Hee grabbed some kimchi and ate it. “Please I know more restaurants than the two of you combined.”

Tae Yeon lightly slammed the table with her shot glass. “It is so on!” Pouring herself and others at the table a shot.

Eun Ji laughed and reached over for another piece of meat. “Why don’t the three of you show us where to go. I’ve only visited Busan a few times when I was younger.” Making a wrap, she turned and fed it to Jae Young. “You don’t have to be cooking when you’re hungry.”

Jae Young chewed up his wrap before speaking. “No one at this table knows how to cook meat!”

“I said I would cook!” Sun Hee reached over to grab lettuce and meat. “But no oppa you just had to be the cook.”

“Yeah Sun Hee is good at this too!” Tae Yeon handed garlic over to Sun Hee. “After all her family owns a restaurant. Isn’t it around here?”

Sun Hee nodded as she wrapped her food up. “It’s a bit far from the main parts of the city but if you guys want to join me when I go visit home you can.” She took a look at Jae Young and smirked. “And I’ll cook the meat better than you oppa.”

Snorting at the remark Jae Young put the tongs down. “I am just trying to be a good oppa and hyung.”

“Yeah besides, his meat is for Eun Ji unnie” Tae Yeon’s smile reached ear to ear waiting for the response.

“For the love of god shut up and take another shot.” Dae Sung shoved his wrap into Tae Yeon’s mouth and poured her a shot. “You’re disgusting.”

“And you like it.” She winked at Dae Sung who pretended to vomit.

Eun Ji motioned her shot towards Tae Yeon and the two clinked glasses. “Tae Yeon if you really want to know, I can tell you.”

“I’m going to leave this table.” Jae Young squeezed Eun Ji’s cheek and gently pushed her away.

Hana swallowed her food and went for another shot. “How about you tell us how you two started dating.”

Eyes turned to Hana and back at Eun Ji and Jae Young. Finishing her shot, Eun Ji scrunched her face up. “I’m pretty sure everyone in MEKA knows this story.”

“Only some of us.” Kyung Tae stepped out from the quiet end of the table for another shot. “Seriously, a lot of us don’t know. And the ones at this table are the closest with you two in the military.”

Eun Ji’s mouth pouted a little “I don’t know… It’s kind of boring.” Looking over at Jae Young who was shoveling food into his mouth to avoid saying anything.

“Oh come on please!” Tae Yeon clasped her hands together and pleaded.

“You already know this story!” Eun Ji flicked at her forehead and laughed.

“Tell us, tell us!” Dae Sung began a small chant and the table followed his chant.

Eun Ji and Jae Young looked at each other. For once they couldn’t figure out who should be talking. “Ok fine.” Jae Young sighed and the table cheered. “But first let eat me another wrap and give me one more shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMEMBER I am using KOREAN age vs international age. Everyone is a year older in this story but not really.


	2. A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you get a chance

2069

Kim Eun Ji. Age 20. Occupation… College dropout…

It’s been a year since Eun Ji graduated from high school and she never finished college. She graduated with some of the lowest scores and went to a basic university. Many of her friends went off to a SKY university or some other fancy school. The Han river was quite busy today. Eun Ji sighed as she looked down at the river. There were too many people watching for her to jump off the bridge and get the results she wanted. Grumbling under her voice she walked away from the railing. Maybe another day she could jump off.

_Bring bring_ ~ Eun Ji’s phone lit up as her friend’s picture popped up. “Hello?”

“Eun Ji!” The voice was muffled from the other end.

“Oppa? Are you eating?”

“Yeah sorry hold on.” He paused for a second and continued. “Eun Ji you have to get over here right now!”

She knew where to go with that kind of tone. “Why? What’s going on?”

“No time for questions. Get here as fast as you can!”

“Um… Ok…” Before she could ask the call ended. Eun Ji ran over to the bus stop and waited for the right one to show up.

* * *

 

Park Jae Young. Age 20, Occupation esports athlete.

The stadium was empty for now but it would soon be filled to the brim. SKT was playing today and he wanted to watch his idols. Jae Young had been training since he was fifteen to be apart of an esports team. Sure he was on one that lost a lot but he was still on a team. The games didn’t start for another half hour but he was allowed to come inside early.

A man stumbled onto the stage putting his phone away. “Sorry I had to call someone.” He wiped his sugar coated mouth with a napkin and threw it out.

“Oh Sang Wook, could you please not be so distracted?” The technicians quickly adjusted the stage lights as Sang Wook stood at the center.

“I’m really sorry but I had a good reason!” He brushed off his suit and adjusted his glasses. Turning his head he nodded to the director. “You said we needed more time right?”

“Yes but can’t we talk about th-”

“I know someone who can help!”

“Sang Wook we can-”

“I’m serious, she’s really good.” The smile wouldn’t leave his face.

The director sighed and waved Sang Wook off the stage. “Fine. What is it?”

* * *

 

Ten minutes. Eun Ji had ten minutes to make it on time. The subway came to a halt at Yongsan and the doors slowly opened. There was no time to wait. Eun Ji rushed out of the subway car and dashed up the stairs. She slapped her wallet onto the card reader and bolted off to the right entrance. The mall was always crowded, but today was especially full. Eun Ji weaved around the pockets of people to get to the top floor.

Once reaching the top floor, Eun Ji ran over to the stadium’s back door. “Kim… Eun Ji…” Showing her ID to the security guards. “I’m… I’m here for the game…” Her words left in gasps waiting for the guards to let her in.

The door swung open as Sang Wook jogged out. “Eun Ji you made it!” Sang Wook quickly bowed at the security guards and dragged her in.

“Oppa what is… What is going on?”

Sang Wook ignored the question and brought her over to a small room. “Quick change into this!” He shoved a white and blue jersey into her hands.

“What? What is this? Oppa what the hell is going on?” Eun Ji unfolded the jersey in her hands. There was no logo or team name, just a plain jersey.

“Eun Ji I’ll explain after you change. Now hurry!” With a push the door closed behind Eun Ji.

Turning to the mirror Eun Ji saw her face for the first time today. “I’m a mess…” Without another word she changed into the jersey and quickly fixed her hair.

* * *

 

It was normal for games to start a little late. Events always start a little late. Jae Young looked around the room. Lights shined on the stage and everyone was excitedly talking about their hopes for the matches. It seemed pathetic for him to by himself in the front row of the audience. No one recognized him and even if they did he wasn’t important enough to be talked to.

* * *

 

“Oppa?” Sang Wook had disappeared. Eun Ji slowly stepped out of the small room and looked around. “Oppa where are you?”

“Eun Ji!” Sang Wook ran over and grabbed her shoulders. “Ok listen to me. You have to do me and everyone in the audience and those watching a huge favor.”

“What the hell is going on?”

Sang Wook winced and took out his earpiece. “One of the members from ROX Tigers suddenly got sick so they need to get their replacement. While the other team member gets here we are going to do a small pre show.”

Still not understanding the situation, Eun Ji shook her head. “Oppa, why am I the one doing-”

“OH SANG WOOK!” The voice from his earpiece barked. “GET ON STAGE NOW!”

Sang Wook gave Eun Ji a hug and put his earpiece back in. “Please just trust me.” With that he turned and ran onto the stage.

* * *

 

Sang Wook jogged onto the stage and bowed. “Ladies and gentlemen welcome to week 3 of the summer SMITE brackets!” The crowd let out a roar of excitement at what Sang Wook said. “Now before we begin we have to make an announcement.” The crowd settled down and Sang Wook waited before speaking again. “One of the members of ROX Tigers has suddenly fell ill. We know everyone was excited to see him, but the team is currently getting another member to take over.” Whispers spread across the crowd. Jae Young looked to see many fans wondering who fell ill. “But do not worry! We will be doing a small pre show to give ROX Tigers enough time to change up.”

Eun Ji stood behind the curtain and took a deep breath. Now she knew why she was here.

“Now raise your hand if you know who the top ranked duel player is in Korea?” Sang Wook’s hand raised up and waited for anyone in the crowd to raise their hand. Jae Young’s hand slowly went up. He had seen on the leaderboard the name of the top ranked duel player in SMITE. “Woah it looks quite a few of you know who this person is. Does anyone know the in game name?”

In bursts the crowd yelled out “Strawberry!”

Sang Wook looked over to where Eun Ji was standing. The grin on his face couldn’t be wiped away even if he tried. “What if I told you that a member of SKT will going up against Strawberry in a special one versus one pre show?”

Eun Ji’s hands were shaking. She only played at PC bangs not in front of crowds. She wasn’t ready for the world to know who ‘Strawberry’ was.

“Can SKT Snoopy come on stage?” A boy wearing a bright red SKT jacket walked onto the stage. He waved to the crowd and gave a small smile. “Today Snoopy will be versing Strawberry in our special duel match. Now, are we ready to greet Strawberry on stage?”

Eun Ji couldn’t breathe. Just a few minutes ago she trying to jump into the Han river and now she was going to be on TV in front of millions of people as Strawberry.

“Everyone please welcome Strawberry onto the stage!” Whistles and claps engulfed the room as everyone was eager to finally see who Strawberry was.

Sang Wook looked to Eun Ji and gestured for her to come onto the stage. Eun Ji took a peek to the crowd. Some were standing up waving glow sticks for her appearance. One step at a time. Taking in a big breath, Eun Ji stepped out onto the stage. The lights blinded her and the crowd became nothing but noise.

“Ladies and gentlemen the premiere of Strawberry!” Sang Wook nodded at Eun Ji and she bowed to the crowd. “Let the duel match begin!”

Eun Ji didn’t know what to do. Snoopy walked up to her and stretched his hand out. “Good luck.” His smile was so soft and comforting.

Reaching out she shook his hand. “Good luck to you too.” Snoopy nodded and turned to the PC booth on his side. Eun Ji looked behind her and walked over to the booth on her side.

“Ok Eun Ji. Just breathe.” Taking a seat at the only PC with it’s screen on. Her account was already logged on. Sang Wook knew her account information so she didn’t care. The match lobby was already set up. Eun Ji grabbed the headset and placed it on her head. Sang Wook opened the booth door and walked over to Eun Ji.

“Ok Eun Ji, you can change your settings real quick and when you’re ready start the game, just start it. Snoopy already has his setup so don’t worry about him.”

Before Sang Wook could leave the booth, Eun Ji grabbed his suit sleeve. “Oppa why am I doing this?” She looked up at him, her hand still shaking.

“Because…” Sang Wook grabbed her hand and held it for a second. “I know you don’t want to be working at a supermarket for the rest of your life.” He let go of her hand and left the booth.

Eun Ji looked out the booth to see the crowd again. “You’re just going to be doing another regular ranked match Eun Ji. You’re fine…” Quickly changing her settings, Eun Ji clicked to begin the match.

* * *

 

Jae Young scoffed at what was going on. The announcer for today's matches just happened to know the number one duel SMITE player in Korea. He looked over to the booth Eun Ji sat in. How come no one has ever seen the face of a top player until now?

“Looks like Snoopy will be banning first.” Jae Young looked back up to the screen. Duel meta was something he was unfamiliar with.

Snoopy clicked on a few gods before banning Loki. “Looks like a Loki ban!” The crowd cheered in agreement.

Eun Ji knew all the gods Snoopy could play. But this wasn’t conquest and the rules shift in a duel match. Her eyes darted around several gods before banning out Izanami.

“An Izanami ban?! This is going to be one interesting game.”

Jae Young scoffed once more. These bans were already ridiculous to him.

“Snoopy is going to go for a Kon ban. Good choice as he is regularly banned in duel games.”

Before banning Eun Ji laughed at her screen. She had no idea who to play or who to ban. Her mouse hovered over the random button and clicked to see who would pop up.

“A Guan Yu ban? Is he even banned in games?” Eun Ji laughed at Sang Wook’s fake confusion. The nervous shaking started to leave her hands and mind.

Eun Ji and Snoopy picked each picked three more gods to ban before going to their own god selection.

“Snoopy has already locked in his choice!”

Sang Wook couldn’t say anything out loud since the choices in a duel were supposed to be unknown. Eun Ji ran through a tier list in her head before settling for a god many considered to be low tier.

“Strawberry has locked in!”

The big screen revealed the choices Snoopy and Eun Ji made. Jae Young almost stood up from his seat when he saw the picks. “Snoopy will be playing as Jing Wei and Strawberry will be playing as…” Sang Wook paused when looking at Eun Ji’s pick. “She will be playing as the Gumiho.”

Jae Young shook his head at Eun Ji’s pick. “What kind of idiot chooses Gumiho?” Even he knew it was a bad pick.

The crowd began to countdown for the start of the match. “Five! Four! Three! Two! One!” The game loaded and the screen was split to show both sides. Everyone cheered as the two bought their items.

Eun Ji bought her items so fast her shop screen was down and already leaving base. “Worst god in the game my ass… I’ll show everyone.”

Sang Wook walked off the stage and let the commentators in the back take over. The three commentators began rattling off their thoughts. “Snoopy has the clear advantage in this set up. While both gods are very mobile, Snoopy can back and come to lane in seconds with Jing Wei’s passive.”

“That’s true but we are also talking about Strawberry. She is ranked number one in SMITE duel. We shouldn’t underestimate her pick.”

Suddenly the crowd gasped. “What is this?!” On the screen Eun Ji had already chunked out half of Snoopy’s health. “Strawberry was able to buy items so fast she caught Snoopy as he was landing into lane!”

Jae Young leaned forward in his chair. Even with his eyes on the screen he couldn’t follow what was going on. All of a sudden the Gumiho transformed into a fox and lunged at Jing Wei.

“A Gumiho ult perfectly landed on Jing Wei!” Before anyone could blink, Snoopy’s screen turned grey as the game announced first blood. “And Strawberry takes first blood!” The cheers and screams from the crowd have never been so loud. Some even standing on their feet cheering.

“Looks like Strawberry will be staying and taking the red buff. Her health is almost full and still has enough mana to finish off the buff.”

“Yes looks like Strawberry took advantage of having an early ult. Just like Hel, Gumiho doesn’t need a point in ult to be usable.”

“Well now here’s the thing, many use Gumiho ult as an escape because landing the transformation stun is nearly impossible even for the pro players. But here we watched Strawberry perfectly time and execute the ult transformation and stun.”

Eun Ji smirked as she started to back. Jae Young’s eyebrows scrunched together as he watched. He had never seen such an perfectly timed aggressive play by a Gumiho. Sang Wook gave a small fist pump backstage. “Show them who’s boss Eun Ji.”

* * *

 

“We are fifteen minutes into the game and Strawberry has Snoopy pushed so far he might as well give up phoenix. Strawberry took out his first tower before the ten minute mark and now she is just waiting for him to make one mistake and it’s game over.”

“We’ve seen Snoopy back almost every wave to replenish health and mana. At this point buying potions is a complete waste of gold because of how often Strawberry engages.”

“Speaking of Strawberry where is she?”

The map zoomed out and showed Gumiho running towards Bull Demon King. “There is no way she going to try and get the Bull Demon buff!”

“Snoopy has even backed and will probably drop in before a quarter of health has dropped from the Bull Demon.”

Eun Ji carefully pulled the Bull Demon into the farthest corner. “Come get me…” One her screen she saw Snoopy flying towards her. “Perfect…”

“Snoopy will be going in for the steal!”

“No he won’t…” Eun Ji kept attacking the Bull Demon until Snoopy was close enough.

“Jing Wei ult sent off by Snoopy and oh my goodness! Strawberry has ulted out of the way and Bull Demon now has aggression on Snoopy!”

Eun Ji pressed buttons as fast as she could. Her character lunging towards Snoopy and taking out half his health. The Bull Demon struck at Snoopy and Eun Ji lunged towards him again.

“The infamous three one combo coming from Strawberry. That chunked out half of Snoopy’s health and he still has aggression of the Bull Demon on him.”

“Snoopy doesn’t have Fatalis so there is no way to kite out of this situation.”

“That is true and Strawberry has Gem of Isolation which is really slowing Snoopy down.”

Looking at her cooldowns Eun Ji smiled. “And now I win.”

Her god backflipped and lunged out at Snoopy’s god. “Ladies and Gentlemen Strawberry has landed another perfect ult stun onto Snoopy and now he has a thirty second timer before he respawns.”

Eun Ji turned her attention back to Bull Demon and took the buff. She ran over to the wave of minions and cleared with one ability.

“There is no way Strawberry is trying to finish this now.”

“Oh yes way.” Eun Ji began attacking the disabled phoenix. Within seconds the phoenix fell and she continued to the titan.

The crowd exploded as the commentators tried to keep up. “She’s diving titan with no minions?!”

“There’s only ten more seconds before Snoopy spawns there’s no way she can-” The screen turned black and the titan dying animation played. For a second no one moved and no one made a sound. Eun Ji took her headset off and got out of the booth.

“Strawberry! Strawberry! Strawberry!” The crowd chanted Eun Ji’s screenname. The majority were standing on their feet and clapping. Snoopy left his booth to meet Eun Ji on stage.

“I cannot believe Strawberry finished the match by baiting Snoopy to Bull Demon and took down the titan with no minion wave!”

“Good job!” Snoopy reached out for another handshake.

Eun Ji returned the handshake and smiled. “Thank you.”

“Have you thought of going pro?”

“What?”

Before Snoopy could say another word Sang Wook ran onto the stage. “Was that not exciting or what?” The crowd showed their agreement with cheers. “Ladies and gentlemen give a round of applause to Strawberry!”

The lights weren’t as blinding and Eun Ji could make out bodies standing and sitting. She bowed and relished in the adoration. There was never a time so many people cheered for her.

“Strawberry do you have anything to say before SKT and ROX Tigers have their matches?” Sang Wook handed the mic over to Eun Ji. Members of both teams were entering their booths to set up for their matches.

The room fell silent as Eun Ji tried to think of something to say. “Um hello. I’m Strawberry and I spent a lot of time playing ranked duel matches at PC bangs. I uh… Never thought I could show my skills in front of so many people.” She looked over at Sang Wook who gave her two thumbs ups. “Thank you so much for showing me your support. I hope I can play again for everyone in the future.” With that, Eun Ji handed the mic back to Sang Wook. Bowing one last time as everyone applauded before leaving the stage.

* * *

 

The screen turned off as fans cheered for SKT winning another match. Sang Wook said a few more things on stage before the lights turned off and the doors opened for everyone to leave the stadium. Jae Young slowly got up and walked over to the backstage.

“Eun Ji you were amazing!” Sang Wook squeezed her as tightly as possible. “I knew you could do it!”

Through her giggles Eun Ji tried to wiggle out of his grasp. “Put me down oppa you’re going to break my back!”

He gently put Eun Ji down and lightly shook her. “I’m so proud of you! Here I’ll treat you tonight ok?”

“Ok but it has to be-”

“Excuse me.” A man in a red jersey walked over to Eun Ji and Sang Wook. “Kim Eun Ji, or better known as Strawberry, may I speak with you?”

Jae Young walked around to see Sang Wook standing next to Eun Ji. He hesitated for a bit and continued to walk towards them. As he got closer he saw the man with the red jersey talking with Eun Ji. “The manager of SKT? Is he…”

The man handed Eun Ji a manilla envelope. “Do you have an interest in becoming a professional gamer?”

“What?!”

Eun Ji couldn’t say anything else. All the time spent in a PC bang wasn’t supposed to let her become pro. It just meant she had nothing to pursue in life.

Sang Wook’s mouth hung open. There was no way this last minute arrangement was going to lead to Eun Ji signing a contract to one of the best teams in esports.

Jae Young was frozen. For five years he trained to get where he was and his team was notorious for losing every single game.

SKT’s manager smiled at the two. “I know it must be a shock but your skills are beyond anyone’s I’ve seen. No one on any esports team can even come close to how perfectly you executed your Gumiho gameplay.”

Eun Ji looked down at the manilla envelope. “Um… I’m really not that good at-”

“Nonsense. I’ll give you some time to think about this.” Giving the most reassuring smile he could, he looked up to see Jae Young standing behind the two. “You. Come over here.” Pointing right at Jae Young. Sang Wook and Eun Ji turned to see Jae Young standing not too far away.

Jae Young glanced around to see that he was by himself. “Me?”

“Of course you, come over here.” Gesturing for Jae Young to come closer. He looked at Jae Young’s varsity jacket and nodded. “You’re Milk from Incredible Miracle right?”

Hearing SKT’s manager say that outloud made Jae Young realize how embarrassed he really was to be on Incredible Miracle. “Yes sir… I am.”

“You’re…” Eun Ji leaned out to get a better look at Jae Young. “You’re Milk?”

“Uh… Yeah…”

She bowed in front of Jae Young and looked up at him. “You’re Incredible Miracle’s support and main healing supports. Known for your overly aggressive plays and…” Eun Ji trailed off and fell silent. Jae Young didn’t look happy with her.

Sang Wook placed his hands on Eun Ji’s shoulders and laughed. “Eun Ji knows every single SMITE pro players mains, playstyle, strengths and weaknesses, and watches them stream all the time!”

“Oppa!” Eun Ji hissed at him.

“Is that so?” SKT’s manager looked back and forth between Jae Young and Eun Ji. “Jae Young I will be in contact with your team's manager and Eun Ji.”

“Y-yes?”

“I will also be in contact with you.” Taking a step back he gave a small bow. “I’m glad to have met both of you.” He walked away from the three and met up with his team.

Jae Young looked down at Eun Ji and rolled his eyes. His mood was ruined and meeting SKT was no longer a wish he wanted to fulfill.

“Uh… It was nice to meet you…” Eun Ji called out to Jae Young. He looked back at her and scoffed. Turning back to leave the stadium.

* * *

 

“Cheers!” Sang Wook lifted his shot glass and lightly tapped it with Eun Ji’s. “I can’t believe you have a chance to be on SKT!” He quickly took his shot and filled up his next one. “Oh man aren’t you excited? You can prove to everyone your time spent at PC bangs wasn’t a waste!”

Eun Ji looked down at her shot glass. “I guess…” A heavy sigh left her as she pushed the shot away.

“Eun Ji…” Sang Wook put his shot down and tapped on the table. “What’s wrong?”

In her brain Jae Young’s scoff and face replayed over and over. “If I do sign with SKT… Won’t people be… upset?”

Sang Wook grabbed Eun Ji’s hand and softly laughed. “What? That you never trained to become a professional and it’s unfair to everyone who did and some total nobody suddenly gets put on the world’s greatest esports team?”

“Yeah… Mil- I mean Jae Young looked angry…” Eun Ji pushed Sang Wook’s hand away and folded hers in her lap. “He’s someone who’s worked to get where he is. Not like me who didn’t want to go to school and spent hours in a PC bang wasting away…”

“Eun Ji look at me.” Sang Wook waited for Eun Ji to lift her head up. Slowly she looked up at Sang Wook. She didn’t want him to see her crying again. “I am going to be next to you the whole way. If others are going to point fingers and persecute you, I’ll be next to you and shield you. This is a chance you can not throw away.”

Sang Wook’s soft side was showing. People called him a teddy bear in high school for a few reasons. “Is it because you’ve been gaining more weight lately?”

The soft expression left his face and replaced with fake shock. “I am trying to be a good and supportive oppa and you call me fat?!” Eun Ji began to laugh and she covered her mouth. “Here I am treating you to dinner and soju and I get called fat by my own dongsaeng! I can’t believe it!” Eun Ji couldn’t stop laughing now. Maybe everything will be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks why I chose SMITE, I will answer that myself. Since it's in the future we don't know what kind of games will become popular. I am going to use current games just like Blizzard did (after all Starcraft 2 is pretty much a dead esport in Korea) With that, I chose SMITE because I know SMITE the best. I wanted to pick League of Legends but I personally don't know as much as SMITE.


	3. Strawberry and Milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SKT's newest team being introduced into esports.

“Wow hyung you were so mean when you were younger.” Dae Sung chewed on his kimchi for a bit.

Jae Young rolled his eyes. “I know I was and I’m not proud of it.”

“It’s because he was jealous that I was better than him.” A smug smile crossed Eun Ji’s face as she did a little dance in her seat. Jae Young turned his head to her and lightly pushed her away.

Hana put her finger to her mouth and shushed everyone. “I want to hear when I can talk about seeing them on TV!”

Sun Hee and Tae Yeon burst out laughing. “Hana even when it’s not your story you want to talk about yourself.” Tae Yeon gently messed up Hana’s hair.

Eun Ji chewed for a bit and took a second to think. “Well… I’m only going to tell the exciting parts so everyone better listen because I don’t want to repeat myself.”

* * *

 

The SKT house was pretty big and even after a month of living there, Eun Ji sometimes forgot where things were. Today was supposed to be her ‘teaching’ day. Manager Kang didn’t say anything specific other than ‘I finally contacted Incredible Miracle’s manager.’ Trying to find the kitchen she took every turn possible before bumping into Snoopy. “Oh sorry Joon Tae oppa.”

Joon Tae tilted his head and smiled. “Are you lost again?”

Eun Ji could feel her face turn bright pink. “Yeah… Where’s the kitchen? I want breakfast…”

Without a word, Joon Tae turned around and led Eun Ji to the kitchen. “Thank you oppa~” Quickly she grabbed a bowl and filled it with rice.

“Are you excited for today?” Joon Tae took a seat on the counter and grabbed a banana. “I don’t know what Manager Kang is planning but whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

The SKT team has been more than welcoming to Eun Ji. Her parents were so happy to finally see her move on in life that they didn’t hesitate to have her move out and live with SKT. “I’m a little bit nervous…” In a flash Jae Young’s face crossed her mind and she shook her head to try and get rid of it. “I don’t know if my training is enough…”

In the month Eun Ji lived with SKT, they had been teaching her how to play Conquest. They had to figure out what role to place her in and which gods suited her the best. There was just one problem with the whole process.

“Eun Ji good morning!”

Joon Tae leaped off the counter and Eun Ji whipped around to see Manager Kang. “Good morning Manager Kang!” The two bowed to him and went back to eating.

“Are you ready for today?” Kang opened the fridge and took out a bottle of juice.

Eun Ji quickly swallowed the rice she was chewing on before speaking. “Manager Kang, what are we doing today?”

“Well…” Kang poured himself a cup of juice and took a sip. “I’ve heard from everyone that they were having a hard time trying to figure out what role you should play.”

Joon Tae nodded and finished his banana. “Eun Ji has almost every god at diamond mastery. Any position we put her in she excels and can carry a team.”

“Oh well I mean…” Eun Ji could feel her face turning pink. “In a duel or joust match you have to be well versed in a lot of gods.”

“Manager Kang she reached Conquest Grandmaster ranking in under a week!” Eun Ji didn’t like bragging so someone else had to do it for her.

“Is that so?” Kang looked at Eun Ji who was trying to hide her face away. “Eun Ji, you should give yourself more credit.”

Giving herself credit was an unknown concept. She could only give a nod at Manager Kang’s words.

* * *

 

The only thing Manager Ahn said was that SKT would be helping Incredible Miracle get better as a team. Jae Young didn’t expect to be taught by the newbie.

“If you play Nu Wa mid you can’t be aggressive until mid to late game. You can’t do a whole lot of damage until you have at least four items built which is why the team composition has to have some early game gods to balance out Nu Wa’s weak early game.”

Eun Ji was now sitting where Incredible Miracle’s mid laner, Ki Woong, sat. She had pushed him to the side for a bit to fix up the mistakes he made. Jae Young rolled his eyes and concentrated on supporting the adc.

“Nu Wa needs more penetration than any other mage in the game so try to snowball with pen items that counter the enemy.” She got up and let the mid laner take his seat back. This was the third game where she was watching Incredible Miracle play. She was told to not hold back and say whatever came to her mind. It was difficult at first, but it didn’t take long for her spot all of the reasons Incredible Miracle lost so often. Suddenly the screens all turned to the enemy titan as it fell. “Oh they surrendered…”

Jae Young took his headset off and stood up. “I’m gonna get some water.” He didn’t want to hear Eun Ji rattle off all of their mistakes for a third time.

“Oh uh Jae Young…” Eun Ji reached out to him but quickly retracted her hand. “Shouldn’t you stay for um… you know the next…” She could feel her body shriveling up under Jae Young’s gaze. Without a word he left the room to get his water. “Ok…”

“Don’t mind him.” Eun Ji turned to see Ki Woong talking to her. “He’s like that. He’ll warm up later.”

* * *

 

Joon Tae had his head in the refrigerator looking for something to eat. He pulled out a piece of cake and placed it on the counter. Jae Young walked over and filled his cup with the purifier. “Hey Jae Young! How’s playing with Eun Ji?”

There was no way Jae Young could ignore someone he looked up to. “Hey hyung. Um…” He didn’t know what to say about Eun Ji. His feelings towards weren’t the greatest. “Well… she’s definitely helping…”

“Is she nervous?” Joon Tae sliced the cake up and took out a small square piece.

Jae Young thought about the question Joon Tae asked. Eun Ji didn’t seem to be a very nervous person. “Um… She seems really shy.”

Reaching for a plate Joon Tae nodded at Jae Young’s answer. “Ah so she is nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. Nervous.” The cake was carefully placed on the center of the plate. “She’s super cute but she’s always anxious about something.” Joon tae turned to put the rest of the cake away in the refrigerator.

“Cute?” This was not the conversation Jae Young wanted to have with Joon Tae.

“Honestly, I’d date her if it weren’t for the rules.” He began to walk over to the room where Incredible Miracle was practicing. Jae Young followed behind wishing the conversation would end. “That and she’s so nervous and anxious about everything, it’s hard to get to know her.”

“Hmm…” Joon Tae only made Eun Ji sound like a rabbit who was hiding from everything because she was afraid of being eaten alive. What a pathetic way to live your life.

The two reached the room and Eun Ji could be heard talking about how to set up the next match. Joon Tae stopped before turning the corner to go into the room. “I forgot milk… Here,” He handed the plate of cake to Jae Young. “Give that to Eun Ji and I’ll be back.”

Before Jae Young could protest, Joon Tae had jogged back to the kitchen. He looked down at the tiny slice of cake before walking into the room. Screens showed to already be in god selection. Eun Ji sat at Jae Young’s place asking others what they would be picking. Jae Young walked over and cleared his throat.

“Oh!” Eun Ji jumped in her seat and looked up at Jae Young. “S-sorry Jae Young.” She stumbled to get out of his chair. “I-I only accepted the match so you could-” Before she could finish, Jae Young thrusted the plate of cake into her hands. “What?”

“Joon Tae hyung told me to give this to you.” With that, he sat down and placed the headset on his head.

Eun Ji blinked at the cake for a bit before whispering “Thank you…” The plate only had a cake and there was no fork. She blinked a bit more at the cake before gently lifting it up for a bite.

* * *

 

It was only 7 minutes into the game and everything was falling apart. All of the first towers had already taken damage and they were behind gold, damage, and kills.

“Are we gonna surrender at ten?” The team’s adc leaned back in his chair and groaned. “This is pointless we can’t even beat randoms.”

Eun Ji’s foot furiously tapped the floor. She didn’t want to annoy them anymore but at the same time she couldn’t stop seeing mistakes.

Jae Young leaned back in his chair and looked back at everyone. “Yeah sure why not.”

“No way!” Eun Ji leaped at the adc and took his headset off. “Jung oppa move over!” She gently pushed him away and plopped into his seat. “We can win in under fifteen minutes.”

Jae Young rolled his eyes and looked back at his screen. “No, we can’t wi-”

“Go back to base now.” On screen Eun Ji sold and bought a few items and waited for her death timer to tick down. “I need you to sell your Talisman and buy Stone of Binding.”

“What?” Everyone turned their head to Eun Ji for a split second before returning to their screens.

“I know it’s an incredibly situational item but this is that situation!” The death timer hit zero and Eun Ji moved out of base. Jae Young rolled his eyes and backed to base. “Once you do that everyone push at gold fury.”

The enemy team was already trying to take out gold fury but everyone followed Eun Ji anyways. “We won’t make it to the gold fury in ti-”

On Eun Ji’s screen she had reached the gold fury first and killed someone. “Jae Young ult!” As her character finished the backflip, Jae Young’s ult appeared at her feet. “Ki Woong oppa use the three ult combo on gold fury.” Once the combo was sent off, Eun Ji landed her combo and began to basic attack everyone. The in game announcer yelled out a pentakill and the timers for the enemy team hit thirty seconds. “Finish gold fury and push up to second mid tower.”

Incredible Miracle hesitated for a second before following Eun Ji’s words. In under thirty seconds the gold fury and second mid tower fell as everyone started to back. Jae Young relaxed his furrowing eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. “Now what?”

Eun Ji checked everyone’s build and the enemy teams build. “Everyone but me go mid they are trying to defend. I have enough attack speed and penetration to finish off right lane tower.”

* * *

 

Manager Kang walked into the room and stood next to Joon Tae. “How are things going?” He turned his head to watch the screens. Everyone was running from Fire Giant and rushing to base. “How many minutes?”

Joon Tae picked up his fallen jaw and sipped on his water. “Under fifteen... after seven minutes of being pushed back to second tower all three lanes.” The victory card suddenly flashed across all the screens.

Eun Ji sighed and placed her headset on the table. “And that’s how you finish in under fifteen.” Incredible Miracle got up and gave each other high fives and started chattering to Eun Ji.

Manager Kang nodded and looked at Joon Tae. “Start training her as an adc. I’m going to construct a new team around Eun Ji. I’ll find her a support as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir!” Joon tae gave a small bow to Manager Kang and walked over to Eun Ji to tell her what’s going on.

* * *

 

“This is the last week in the Summer SMITE brackets. Honestly the turnout for this game is not the greatest but not all of them can be a hit.”

The commentators continued to talk about the game as Incredible Miracle got ready in the back. Jae Young looked around and saw Sang Wook getting ready to go up and start announcing the game. Eun Ji wasn’t anywhere within visible range. He had learned she comes to all the games, often bringing food to Sang Wook. “Ok team,” turning his attention back to his team, “we’re against Dark Wolves today. We… might not win, but we’ve learned a lot lately.” Dark Wolves was a much better team than Incredible Miracle. Lost a lot but not to the level they did.

* * *

 

The wait was much longer than Eun Ji expected. At this point she was going to miss the entire game. She looked at the time on her phone and sighed. It had already started and there was no point in calling Sang Wook to tell him that he could order later. To her knowledge, all other orders were done through the phone and she was the only one in store looking like a fool. Eun Ji began quickly tapping her foot. Thinking about possibly making it to the final round.

* * *

 

“Kim Eun Ji… I’m here for-”

The security guards opened the door without hesitation. Eun Ji didn’t want to miss anything and went through the entrance to the stadium. The screens showed that it was the third game. Incredible Miracle and Dark Wolves had each won a game and was fighting the third one. Twenty three minutes in and all towers were down. Under her breath she began to say what she would do.

“There only needs to be one more big team fight before the game ends.” Commentators were closely watching from different spectating views. “And it looks like it will be happening at the Fire Giant!” The crowd cheered as both teams met at the Fire Giant. The two teams danced a bit before initiation began. “Incredible Miracle’s support has gone in aggressively. No one ever wants to start first because they end up dead and no one wants to miss the Fire Giant buff.”

On the screens a cluster of abilities and attacks came in flashes and each team burned off different abilities. Health and mana bars depleted in seconds before one team stood victorious. The crowd exploded to see who ended up coming out at the top.

“Ladies and gentlemen Incredible Miracle has just won the game! Timer’s for Dark Wolves are almost at a minute and that enough time to get Fire Giant and push up mid lane.”

Just as the commentator finished, Incredible Miracle killed off Fire Giant and headed down mid lane phoenix.

“I can’t believe we are witnessing the action here. This will be Incredible Miracle’s first win ever!” The phoenix fell and the team began attacking the titan. In just a few seconds the titan fell.

“And that’s the game! Incredible Miracle wins two to one and takes home their very first victory ever!”

Eun Ji could feel herself breathing again. The bag of food had dropped to the ground as she began jumping up and down at Incredible Miracle’s victory.

In the booth Incredible Miracle screamed at their victory. They ripped their headsets off and began giving each other hugs. Soon tears began to fall and hit the ground.

The crowd couldn’t sit down. The cheering grew louder as the two teams came out of the booths to shake hands with each other.

* * *

 

“Oppa it’s not even good if you heat it up!” The stadium was slowly emptying out and social media was on fire after Incredible Miracle’s win. “I was going to call you and tell you it would be better if we got food after the game. So many people order at this time!” Eun Ji handed the box of chicken to Sang Wook.

Sang Wook grabbed the box and smiled. “It’s still pretty warm. Besides, you can never have enough chicken.” Eun Ji rolled her eyes at his words as he began to feast on the meal.

Incredible Miracle huddled together backstage meeting with some fans. Dark Wolves had already left and the next game was getting set up. Stage crew walked over and told fans that they would have to leave soon. Eun Ji grabbed a chicken leg and gently bit out of it. “Oppa, Twitch definitely has this game right?” She was planning on watching the game during dinner. Sang Wook nodded and gave a thumbs up. Chicken strips peeked out from the sides of his mouth. Taking another bite of her chicken, she looked up to Incredible Miracle who was starting to gather up their belongings to leave. “Do you think Incredible Miracle is gonna be able to-” Eun Ji looked over to Sang Wook but he wasn’t at his box of chicken anymore. “I guess it’s mine now…” She sat down at the closest chair and dragged the box closer to her reach.

* * *

 

“Fall split will start soon but Eun Ji’s not even on a team yet.” Coach Min was sitting in the kitchen with Manager Kang. It had been a few weeks since the summer split ended and teams were preparing for the fall split. “The girls team already has a full roster and we can’t replace anyone from there.”

Kang nodded and sipped his coffee. “Don’t worry. I’m planning on waiting for the next season to debut Eun Ji.”

Unsatisfied with the answer, Min shook her head. “But what team are we placing her on?”

“I’ve taken care of that too.” Kang stood to his feet and started to move out of the kitchen. Min got up and followed suit. “I’m planning on creating a new team based off of Eun Ji’s adc ability’s.” The doorbell suddenly rang throughout the house. “And here is the second teammate.” Kang smiled at Min whose eyebrows were furrowed. “Let’s go.” Kang motioned to the front door to go meet the new teammate.

As the two approached the door they saw Eun Ji had opened it already. She turned her head and bowed at Kang and Min. “Hello manager Kang and coach Min.” Min nodded and looked at who was standing at the door. “Um… Manager Kang… Why is Jae Young here?”

Jae Young stood at the doorway and bowed. “Hello manager Kang and coach Min.”

“You’re right on time.” Kang smiled and gestured for Jae Young to come in. “It took a while but I finally was able to grab Jae Young’s contract.” He looked down at Eun Ji and patted her shoulder. “Eun Ji, Jae Young, you two are going to be SKT’s newest adc support duo.”

“What?” Min, Eun Ji, and Jae Young looked at Kang like he was a mad man.

* * *

 

Min paced back and forth in the kitchen. Kang leaned back in his chair waiting for the storm to pass by. “Kang not a single co-ed team is in existence in esports. Who would they verse? Who is going to be the mid, solo, and jungler on this team?” So many questions ran through Min’s head. “What if this team doesn’t work? Do you have any idea how many years it took to even get an all female team into esports?” Before Kang could answer Min jumped ahead. “It’s only been forty years since all female teams began showing up in esports! And even then it’s only been about twenty years for people to accept that women can play games professionally!”

Kang let out a heavy sigh and tapped the table. “Min, you of all people should know how it feels to be doing something new. You and I grew up with people fighting for women to be taken seriously in esports.” Min angrily nodded at Kang’s words. “You were on one of the most successful women’s team in esports which is what has gotten so many to accept and respect women esports.” Slowly, Kang rose to his feet and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “Now, I want you to coach the first ever co-ed team. Show that men and women can be on the same team and work together. Do you understand?”

The two silently stood in the kitchen looking at each other. After a few seconds Min sighed and relaxed her shoulders. “I understand.”

Kang smiled and gave a hearty nod. “Thank you.”

Eun Ji and Jae Young leaned against the wall several doors down the kitchen. Jae Young sighed and ruffled his hair. “I guess we’re a duo now. So should we get-” Glancing down at Eun Ji, he caught her sitting on the ground with her arms covering her face and reaching the back of her head. “Eun Ji?” Jae Young slid down and knelt next to her. He could hear her quickly whispering something. “Eun Ji?” He tried to listen to what she was saying but couldn’t hear anything.

* * *

 

Manager Kang and coach Min went to every single fall split game so far. Every week they would discuss which member from which team they would try and snag. Sometimes trying to find an underdog like Eun Ji to take the roles in the team. Eun Ji and Jae Young have been practicing compositions everyday to make sure all grounds were covered.

Eun Ji leaned back in her chair waiting for the queue to start. “Jae Young.” She waited for him to look up before talking again. “Have we tried Medusa and Kuzenbo?”

Jae Young snorted and shook his head. “That sounds like a terrible combo.” The game acceptance popped up. “Maybe we’ll try something that’s not dumb.”

Under breath she growled at Jae Young. “You have to try something dumb once in awhile.” The banning started and the gods Eun Ji wanted to play were banned. “Crap…” For a second she looked at the roster and looked up at Jae Young. “Hey Jae Young.”

“What?”

“Wanna learn to adc?”

“What?” This time with more energy.

“I’m serious. Wanna learn adc?”

* * *

 

By the time fall split ended, Manager Kang managed to grab three other contracts. Kyu Won was the new mid laner. She’s overly aggressive and overly confident in her skills. Her play style has earned her the nickname ‘Bee’ because her stage name ‘Honey’ made no sense. Min Woo was the solo laner who was a passive and deadly opponent. Playing many late game gods to try and reach full build. His stage name reflected his favorite food, Mandu. A nice slow cooked mandu full of flavor if you wait long enough. The jungler was also a slower yet aggressive player. Se Bin was noted as one of the most aware junglers with his stage name as Baem. A snake who waits for their prey and quickly goes for the kill. For now the team was fine, but Manager Kang planned on getting more for substitutes.

Coach Min carefully watched practice and intervened only at the end of games to run through and watch footage. Another game was ending in victory. Min nodded and began to gather footage from the game. “Good job everyone. I think we have covered all weaknesses that game.”

Kyu Won shot her hand up and spoke before even getting permission. “What’s the point of learning all the roles if we stick to our own roles anyways?”

Before Min could speak Eun Ji looked at her square in the eyes. “Kyu Won I told you already! It’s just in case a god we wanna play gets banned or we get stuck in a sticky situation.”

A snort escaped Kyu Won as she leaned her chair back. “Unnie, things like that will never happen. There’s a reason we have to learn all the gods in OUR role.”

Min cleared her throat to grab everyone’s attention. “Being a co-ed team is already going to grab everyone’s attention. But in order to stay relevant and gain respect we need something new and different. What Eun Ji said is a valid point. All of you are more diverse in god picks and roles now and can even do off picks to throw off the enemy. It’s good to be well versed.” Kyu Won rolled her eyes at Min’s words. Not everyone got along yet, but they’ve only been a team for a few weeks.

* * *

 

“Are you ready?”

“No…”

Jae Young sighed and turned Eun Ji to look at him. “Eun Ji. You really need to stop being so… nervous.”

The new season had started and it was the first week of the spring split. Their team would be one of the first teams to kick off the season. It had been a month since the end of the fall split and the World Championships and Manager Kang gave the green flag for them to enter the scene. The team got ready backstage as Min gave a few arm exercises. Eun Ji bit her bottom lip and looked away from Jae Young.

“Seriously. Your skills are the reason we’re here right now. As a team on SKT!” Jae Young searched Eun Ji’s face for any kind of change. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

* * *

 

2069

Song Hana. Age 13. Occupation student and trainee.

Hana only cared about Starcraft. After all, her dad was one of the world’s greatest Starcraft players. She had been learning Starcraft as long as she could remember. Even though her mom said she wasn’t always in front of a PC.

The clock struck twelve times and kids ran out of the school building. Saturday school was ending kids gathered in the courtyard. Hana ran over to a group of kids bunched at the corner of the courtyard and tried to look over their shoulders. “What’s going on?”

A boy looked up and waved at Hana. “Haven’t you heard Hana? The first ever co-ed esports team is going to be live soon!”

“Co-ed?” Hana furrowed her brows trying to think of what he meant. “Why would there be a co-ed team?”

A girl looked up and smiled. “Because it’s SKT! SKT can do anything and win!”

“No they won’t!” Soon an argument arose in the group whether or not the new co-ed team could win or not.

“Girls and boys can’t play games together!”

“Then we can stop playing badminton as a team!”

Hearing the news Hana knew she had to go home. The group was too loud to hear her say bye, so she just ran to the bus stop and eagerly waited to get home.

* * *

 

“Abba!” Hana ran into the apartment and stumbled to take her shoes off. “I wanna watch the first co-ed esports team live!” Running to the living room, the TV was already on and the table had a boxed chicken lunch.

“Hana just in time!” Her dad looked over and smiled. He pat the seat next to him and opened the box of chicken. “I don’t know much about SMITE but I do know that this co-ed team is a crazy idea.” He handed a leg over to Hana and poured Chilsung cider into a cup.

Hana furiously shook her head. “I bet they’re gonna win! Because SKT is the best!” She took a large bite of the chicken and eagerly waited for the game to start.

* * *

 

“Is everyone ready?” Min gathered the team together and stood with them in a little circle. Everyone wore brand new SKT jackets with their jerseys underneath. “I want to start by saying this. I am so proud to be the coach of this team. It’s not going to be easy to be the first co-ed team, but the first women’s team didn’t cower away and we won’t either.” Everyone nodded and Min’s words. “No backing out now. I want the whole world to know that we can do it!”

The crowd began cheering as Sang Wook finished up the announcements. “Can we have SKT and Samsung come on out?”

Eun Ji took a deep breath and followed Jae Young out on stage. The lights weren’t as bright as they first were. The booth looked and felt more comfortable. All she had to do was breath. She looked over at Samsung who was using an all male team. The esports association had a hard time trying to match their team, but Manager Kang fought through saying, ‘Pair them against any team.’

“Let the spring split begin!” At that cue, god banning began and the crowd cheered.

* * *

 

“Ok Hana, if they lose you have to do extra chores.” Her dad watched the screen to see who they would ban.

Hana smirked and wiggled in her chair. “If they win than abba has to do some of my chores!”

Pausing for a second, Hana’s dad thought about it and laughed. “Deal.” The two shook hands and went back to watching the game.

* * *

 

Ten minutes into the game and mid tower had fallen. “Looks like SKT is struggling to keep solo lane’s tower up. A few more hits and it will go down.” Commentators spit out their predictions and observations.

“And there it goes! Solo tower has fallen for SKT.” The crowd had a mixture of boos and cheers. Some wanting SKT to lose and some wanting them to win.

Eun Ji backed and bought a few items. She looked at everyone’s build and looked at the map. “Se Bin gank mid lane from right side. Kyu Won, for the love of god back already.”

No one argued with Eun Ji. They knew she was the one who could bring the falling team together.

“Looks like Samsung wants to engage mid tower again.”

“It’s SKT’s weak link. Duo lane has been impenetrable! Not a scratch on SKT’s tower in duo lane but they have taken down Samsung’s duo lane tower.”

Jae Young backed as Eun Ji came back to lane darting his eyes to the map. “Se Bin-” Before he finished Se Bin dodged abilities coming from the left jungle.

“Baem proving his incredible map awareness once again! It is almost impossible to gank him.”

“We better do something fast,” Min Woo spawned back from death and began to head out.

“Min Woo teleport to this ward I drop.” Eun Ji dropped a ward in the jungle and checked for enemy wards. Min Woo began to teleport to the ward as Eun Ji ran to mid lane. “Kyu Won.” Kyu Won nodded and began to auto run into mid lane. “Switch!”

Suddenly Eun Ji and Kyu Won stood up and switched seats. The crowd roared with confusion and excitement. “What is SKT doing!?”

Eun Ji quickly put the headset on and began attacking.

“Mid and adc have literally switched places! And an ult is coming from the support and-”

In a few clicks Samsung watched their team die to SKT. “Oh my goodness! That initiation happened so quickly I couldn’t even keep up!”

“Samsung’s death timer is up at forty seconds which is enough time for SKT to take down their mid tower.”

* * *

 

Hana watched the replay in awe. “How did they do that?!” She didn’t know anything about SMITE to properly follow the game.

“Well…” Even her dad struggled to follow through. “They literally switched places and support initiated. Solo was in jungle to help gank and…” He trailed off to think about what happened.

“And Samsung loses their second tower.” The screens focused back on the game as SKT ran for solo lane tower. “Do they have enough time to take this tower?”

* * *

 

Solo tower fell and Eun Ji began to back. “Everyone back and switch.” Kyu Won nodded and the two went back to their original seats. “Minion waves are pushing we can do Gold Fury.” Everything was starting to come together for them. “We can win at twenty.”

The commentators struggled to recap the last team fight. With little action to show, they replayed the fight in slow motion to help themselves and everyone watching. “SKT had set up for everyone to meet and gank mid lane. The initiation allowed the solo to come in and help take out squishies with mid.”

“Yes but why in the world did mid and adc literally switch for that one team fight?” The question no one could answer.

* * *

 

Twenty minutes. Eun Ji promised the game would end at twenty. All of Samsung’s towers have fallen and death timers were a minute long. Se Bin watched the map and saw a glimpse of the enemy on his screen. “They’re at Fire Giant.” He began walking over there to stop them.

“Plant a ward!” Min Woo waited to be able to teleport to the Fire Giant.

“There’s going to be a fight at Fire Giant soon. Whoever comes out victorious will win the game.”

“Kyu Won ult!” Eun Ji followed to the Fire Giant and used her abilities to hold the enemy team down. Min Woo teleported in and ulted into the enemy team.

“SKT is using Fire Giant aggression to their advantage.” Samsung health bars dropped as Fire Giant and SKT attacks dwindled their health. “Looks like SKT’s jungler has fallen!”

Se Bin gently slapped the table cursing under his breath. “Watch out for their mid.”

A few more abilities and basic attacks flew across and Samsung’s team fell. “SKT has won the team fight but they’re ignoring Fire Giant!”

“This is one way to tell the enemy team that they don’t need a buff to win. Looks like they’re splitting up and taking down each lanes phoenix instead of only mid lane.”

Cheers rose from the crowd in anticipation for SKT’s win. “Titan is vulnerable from all three lanes and fire minions are starting to spawn.”

* * *

 

“See abba I told you SKT would win!” Hana couldn’t eat anymore. She was on the edge of her chair waiting for the titan to fall.

“That’s only the first game silly. They have to win two games in order to really win.”

* * *

 

“SKT takes the first game! A rough start but they ended up coming out with a win.”

The second game began setting up as SKT gave each other highfives. Eun Ji smiled at the victory. “See, we can win at twenty.”

Se Bin laughed “Technically twenty-two minutes noona.”

Bans began and Samsung banned out first. “Looks like Samsung banned SKT’s main picks. SKT currently has the jungler and solo picking out the adc and mid gods. Definitely will be doing a trade later.”

“Everyone uses that tactic to try and save the picks that they want for themselves.”

Eun Ji looked at their picks and looked over at Jae Young. She poked his arm to get his attention. Jae Young blinked a few times at Eun Ji before nodding.

“Looks like SKT and Samsung are switching a few picks and what?!”

The timer went to zero and the game began to load. “Did SKT just switch their support and adc roles?” Murmurs filled the stadium. “Why is the support playing adc and vice versa?”

Eun Ji and Jae Young smiled as they looked out to the crowd of confused people. “Are you ready Jae Young?” She looked up at him waiting for a response.

The game started and Jae Young opened the shop. “Of course.”

* * *

 

Hana was kneeling on her chair leaning against the table. The box of chicken was half empty and the cider was gone. The second game was only sixteen minutes in and SKT had pushed Samsung into a corner. “Samsung can’t do anything against SKT now. All phoenix's are down and if they leave base it’s game over.” The screen switched to an overhead view and followed SKT around the map.

“Looks like Strawberry is going into the Titan with Kuzenbo’s ult!” The view switched to Eun Ji’s god for a better look. Samsung was pushed back while SKT picked them off.

“And Milk finishes it with a Medusa ult two combo! Killing Samsung in their own fountain!”

The screen turned black and pulled out to Samsung’s titan falling. Hana screamed and jumped from her seat. “SKT won! Abba they won they won!” She looked to the screen and the camera panned over to SKT’s booth. The team ripped their headsets off and began jumping up down in excitement. Smiles going from ear to ear on their faces.

* * *

 

“And SKT wins the first game of the SMITE spring split!” Sang Wook ran onto the stage with mic in hand. He wasn’t expecting for the game to end so quickly.

In the booth, everyone was hugging each other. Eun Ji jumped up and down with Kyu Won. Even Se Bin was was screaming at their victory. Eun Ji turned and stretched her arms out to Jae Young. Abruptly stopping not knowing if he would like a hug or not. “Um…”

In a sweep, Jae Young hugged Eun Ji and lifted her from her feet. “I guess Medusa and Kuzenbo isn’t a bad combo.” Hearing that made Eun Ji smile even more.

On the other side Samsung carefully placed their headsets down. Each member looked exhausted and slowly made their way out of the booth. Once SKT finished screaming they gathered themselves and walked out the booth. The two teams met on the stage and began shaking hands with each other.

“Well that was certainly an exciting way to kick of the SMITE spring split! SKT came out with a new team composition and dominated the battleground. SKT really did shake things up today with Strawberry and Milk!”

“Seems like their manager pulled together a bunch of underdogs and no namers to make this team. Strawberry was seen last season in the summer as a last minute pre show and now we see her again on one of the greatest esports teams.”

Samsung began to leave the stage while SKT stayed together for a photographer. “Can I get a group photo and then individual ones?” The team looked at each other and nodded. Unsure of what to do, they all stood next to each other with their hands behind their backs. The photographer took a few shots and nodded. “First I would like the adc and support to take a picture together and then everyone else.” Eun Ji and Jae Young looked at each other and the two giggled awkwardly. “Ok over here and say kimchi!” The two looked back at the photographer. Giving small smiles as the crowd in the background tried to jump up and get in it. Their bright red jackets shining with how new they were. “Great picture! I’ll send it to you two later. Ok can the mid laner come here now and-”

Eun Ji and Jae Young stepped to the side and let Kyu Won get her photo next. The stadium slowly cleared out with everyone buzzing about the game. Eun Ji looked up at Jae Young and cleared her throat. “Um… Thanks for being adc that game…”

Jae Young laughed and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I guess it wasn’t too bad to mix things up.” A faint smile crossed his face before it disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are currently no female esport teams. I am going to believe and hope that in the future we can get some. These are just my assumptions and hopes that Korea will stop being such a sexist country by the time D.va is supposed to exist.
> 
> Joon Tae's stage name Snoopy is a reference to Korean League player Yang Yomyong who uses the same name.
> 
> Kyu Won's full stage name is Honey Bee just to clear up confusion.  
> Min Woo's stage name, Mandu, is a reference to the Korean League of Legends player Jeong-Hyeon who used the stage name PoohMandu.  
> Se Bin's stage name, Baem, means 'snake' in Korean.


	4. Climbing to understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ladder to climb to the top and to understand a teammate

Hana had begun to pay attention to many different kinds of esport teams. Slowly she learned about League of Legends, Super Smash, Pokemon, and especially SMITE to try and keep up with esports. Her phone was filled with apps following her favorite athletes on Twitter and Instagram. She had multiple subscriptions to Twitch streamers and was constantly keeping up with matches. Of course, she could never leave Starcraft behind. She popped her gum as she scrolled through her twitter feed. The walk to school wasn’t too bad if there was a distraction especially if was with remixed music.

Footsteps came up behind Hana and grabbed her earbuds out. “Hana!” A girl dropped the earbuds and walked next to Hana. “If you don’t stop looking down, you’ll crash into a wall one day.”

Hana laughed and wrapped her earbuds away. “Very funny Ha Sun. But I’m a master at looking at my phone and walking around.”

Up the hill a boy was waving to the two girls. “Ha Ha hurry up. You’ll both be late.”

The girls started to run up to meet with the boy. “Jiha you’re early as always.”

“Of course I am. We have to talk about the matchups for Starcraft and League this week.” Jiha pulled his phone out and showed a calendar. “I even laid it all out for the next month so we can stay on track with every single game and still get homework done.”

Hana rolled her eyes and popped her gum. “What a nerd!”

* * *

 

The three sat around together at lunch while talking about different things in esports. “We keep getting more work to do. Do you think we’ll have time to keep up with esports when we get older?” Ha Sun chewed a bit on her rice at the thought.

“Of course not.” Jiha fixed his glasses and continued to scroll on his phone. “Hyung is in high school and I almost never see his face.”

“Ugh school just gets worse and worse.” Ha Sun pouted and continued to eat her food. “Hana, are you even going to stay enrolled in school?”

Hana thought about the question. “I don’t know. Maybe for a while before I become famous.” The two others laughed at Hana’s words. “I’m serious! I’ll become just as good as my dad!”

Jiha nodded and put his phone down. “We should just enjoy life now before it becomes difficult.” Everyone nodded in agreement and finished their lunches. “By the way Hana, what are you doing for your birthday?”

* * *

 

“Annyeong! Strawberry and Milk online.” Hana plopped onto her bed with a bag of onion rings. Ha Sun and Jiha followed and each took some rings. Hana’s PC screens showed Strawberry’s and Milk’s streams. Two screens for two streams. “We’re probably gonna do casuals today. No ranked, we gotta relax before the spring split ends.”

“You are obsessed.” Ha Sun bit her ring but kept her eyes glued to the screens.

Hana laughed and grabbed a ring. “Of course! They are the first co-ed team with one of the best adc support duos in MOBA history! Not only that but their duo name is Strawberry Milkshake. How could I not love them?” In the background Milk and Strawberry talked about their previous games and answered questions from chat.

Jiha cleared his throat and ate a ring. “Well, they’ve only been a duo for a few months. I feel like people are jumping the gun calling them the best adc support duo in MOBA history.”

Hana and Ha Neul turned to Jiha and shushed him. Hana looked up that the screen and sat up. “Oooo~ Do you think they’ll answer my question?”

Jiha shrugged at the idea. “Doesn’t hurt to try. The chances of them seeing it isn’t very high because they already have about a thousand plus viewers online.”

“I’m gonna try!” Hana grabbed the keyboard and began typing into Strawberry’s chat. “There!”

The three waited and watched Strawberry’s screen to see if she would answer. Strawberry’s eyes darted for a second and opened her mouth. “Bubblegum princess asks, ‘Will you two be shaking things up in casual games today?”

From the other screen Milk spoke up. “We wouldn’t be Strawberry Milkshake if we didn’t.”

Strawberry giggled and continued reading the chat. “Well this is an interesting question. D.va says and asks,” The three screamed with excitment. Strawberry was actually reading Hana’s question. “‘You guys are the best! Thank you for existing.’ Aw~ Thanks for the support D.va! But you’ll have to thank our parents and our grandparents and great grandparents blah blah blah.” Strawberry laughed before continuing to read Hana’s question. “I want to know, are you two dating?” Strawberry paused and on Milk’s screen he began to laugh. “See… Now that we’ve received this question and I read it outloud, I can guarantee everyone else will ask this question in chat.”

Milk held his sides from laughing so hard. “Strawberry you’ve opened a can of flies. Look chat is already spamming the question.” Milk looked over at his chat and sighed. “We can ban people who spam this now.”

“Hear that mods? Start banning spammers who ask this question.” Strawberry was laughing with Milk now. “But to answer that question, it is a no. I don’t think we would date and by contract we’re not allowed to date.”

Ha Sun sighed and leaned against the wall. “Makes sense. Esports athletes are like popstars now. If anyone finds out their favorite star is dating, the media and fans would freak out. They probably have to write and give an apology speech!”

As Ha Sun finished her words, Milk started speaking. “Yeah since we’re basically celebrity's, everyone’s contract has in bold that we’re not allowed to date.” Milk adjusted his headset as his screen queue acceptance popped up. “Finally queue is over. Now let’s get playing.”

The three huddled together to watch the two play games.

* * *

 

After a few hours of streaming, Eun Ji and Jae Young said bye and turned their streams off. They took their headsets off and headed to the kitchen. Eun Ji rolled her head around to stretch her neck. “Ugh… I shouldn’t have read that question out loud.”

Jae Young shrugged and scrunched his face. “Eh it happens. Now we just have to deal with people asking us that question from time to time.”

The idea of the question being asked stressed Eun Ji out. “I am not ready for someone to try and start drama on the internet.” The two reached the kitchen and began to get food for each other. Jae Young reaching for the bowls and silverware while Eun Ji scooped some rice out.

“Well are you two dating?”

The two screamed and jumped. Turning around they saw the rest of their team sitting at the table.

“Answer the question noona!” Min Woo stuck his tongue out through his smile.

“The answer is no and did you guys watch the stream?” Eun Ji plopped the rice into the bowl as Jae Young put kimchi on top.

“No.” Kyu Won scrolled through her phone and looked up. “But it totally gained speed. Forums and social media are buzzing about this.”

Jae Young rolled his eyes as he walked to the table with his food. “I hate people sometimes.”

“More like all the time hyung.” Se Bin put his feet down from the table as Eun Ji sat down in a chair.

Min Woo watched the two begin eating and raised an eyebrow. “I mean, maybe. You guys do things with each other without even talking.”

Eun Ji and Jae Young paused eating and looked up at Min Woo. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you two normally prepare food like that?”

For a second no one spoke and no one moved. “Oh my god.” Eun Ji put her chopsticks down and leaned back in her chair. “I didn’t even realize what we did.”

“Don’t worry unnie, oppa.” Kyu Won put her phone down and looked at the two. “I’m sure this will die out in a few days and what not. The internet is fickle.”

* * *

 

Spring split ended and summer split was beginning. At almost every game the question popped up. “Are you two dating?” Whether it was from a fan or from the press. It had been weeks since the question was first brought up and it was still a monstrosity. Questions about how two people could work so well together and weren’t dating became a subject around Eun Ji and Jae Young.

“Kyu Won. Didn’t you say this would die out?” The car ride to the stadium was a bit longer than usual. There seemed to be more traffic today. Eun Ji leaned forward in her seat to look over Kyu Won’s shoulder.

Kyu Won sighed and leaned her head back to look at Eun Ji. “Unnie… I thought so too… I really did.”

Coach Min looked back at everyone and sighed. “We’re trying to kill it, trust me. I believe most people ask it as a joke now since we’ve continued to give them the same answer. Of course, it helps that Eun Ji and Jae Young really aren’t dating.”

Jae Young was half listening. His eyes were fixated on the bridge. The car was stuck on the bridge with a trail of signs on the railings. He read as many of them as he could and would have to wait for the car to move to read the rest. He could feel his foot moving. Looking down, Eun Ji’s leg was shaking. Looking up, her face had changed. It was a look he hadn’t seen in awhile. Her brows furrowed, bottom lip bit, pupils almost covered half her eye. Jae Young rolled his eyes and firmly grabbed her arm hoping to get her attention.

With the squeeze of her arm, Eun Ji looked over to Jae Young. He didn’t look happy with her shaking her leg. Slowly she stopped shaking and leaned back into her seat whispering an apology.

* * *

 

Hana had only been to Yongsan a few times. Her dad was taking her there as a birthday gift. It was the weekend when her favorite Starcraft players and SKT were going to be playing. The subway came to a halt and Hana skipped out of the car. “Come on abba!” Today was the SMITE summer split and the next day was for Starcraft.

“I’m coming!” Trailing behind Hana, her dad followed her as she eagerly followed the signs to the stadium.

Once she reached the stadium she couldn’t contain her excitement. “I can’t believe I get to watch SKT live! And with front row seats!” There was a small group of people outside the doors. Soon the doors opened and people walked in. Hana’s dad showed the tickets and the two looked for their seats. The SKT booth had Bee and Mandu sitting in there. Hana gasped and ran over to take a picture of them. The two didn’t notice the crowd taking their pictures and soon left the booth to go backstage. Hana skipped back to her seat and showed the pictures she took.

“Nice pictures Hana.” He ruffled her hair and smiled.

“Thank you abba! I wish it were Strawberry and Milk though.” Hana silenced her phone and eagerly waited for the game to start.

* * *

 

Eun Ji’s hands were shaking. She didn’t know how to make them stop. The whole car ride and while setting up she couldn’t figure out how to stop shaking.

“Ya…” Jae Young stepped in front of Eun Ji and looked down. “Are you going to be ok?” Eun Ji opened her mouth and immediately shut it. Jae Young sighed grabbed her shoulder. “Just… Try and think of it as a normal game.” He tried to give his best smile but failed. “We’ll be fine.”

* * *

 

“Ladies and gentlemen that is game two and SKT is bringing home their very first loss.” The crowd booed and sounds of disappointment waved throughout the stadium. Hana looked around the to see fans get up and leave. Her eyes landed on SKT’s booth and watched as the team sat in silence. “Abba… Can we stay a bit longer? Maybe we can meet them.”

Hana’s dad nodded. “Since everyone is leaving I’m sure there won’t be a line.”

SKT slowly got up and walked out of the booth to exchange handshakes with ROX Tigers. Small smiles seeped out from their faces but changed back after they finished shaking hands.

Once the stadium cleared out, Hana got up and walked over to the announcer. He was a bit chubby but had a hearty voice. “Excuse me Mr Oh Sang Wook.”

Sang Wook looked down and smiled. “Hey! What’s up?”

“My name is Song Hana and I was wondering if I could meet SKT.” Hana lifted herself onto her tippy toes hoping she could at least see them up close.

“Um… But they didn’t win…” Sang Wook  didn’t understand why Hana wanted to meet the matches losing team.

Hana’s dad approached and placed a hand on her shoulder. “SKT is one of her favorite teams. It’s also her birthday.”

Sang Wook froze when he met eyes with Hana’s dad. “Oh my goodness. You’re… You’re…” He fixed himself up and bowed. “It is an honor to meet you Mr. Song. A true legend of esports standing in front of my eyes.”

Hana’s dad laughed at Sang Wook’s words. “I was pretty good at Starcraft but I’m a bit old now for esports now.”

“Well, you are looking very well!” Sang Wook fixed his sleeves and sighed. “I would be happy to let you and your daughter go see SKT but now is not a good time.”

Hana tilted her head in confusion. “Why? What’s wrong?”

* * *

 

Coach Min furiously paced back and forth. She kept putting the phone to her ear and back down to redial. “Eun Ji said she was going to the bathroom but left her jacket and jersey here! She just changed and left the stadium! How did no one see her leave?!”

It had only been a few minutes since the game ended and Eun Ji went missing.

“Seriously, none of you saw her leave?!” Min looked at the team and let out a huff of air. No one looked Min in the eyes as they answered no.

Sang Wook walked over to SKT and cleared his throat. “Nothing?” Min nodded and walked off still redialing. Sang Wook looked at Hana and her dad and over to SKT. “I know this is a super bad time but, you guys have a fan and a legend to meet you.”

Everyone looked up at Hana’s dad and immediately got to their feet. All four bowed at the same time. “Hello Mr. Song.”

Hana’s dad smiled at the team. “Hello. My daughter is a huge fan and really wanted to meet SKT for her birthday. But… where is the fifth member?”

The team exchanged looks and silence filled the area. Se Bin cleared his throat to speak. “Strawberry noona ran off after we came backstage.”

“What?!” Hana couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Yeah…” Kyu Won scratched the back of her head. “Unnie wasn’t looking too good during the car ride. Before and during the game she was shaking so much and couldn’t think straight.”

Min Woo nodded at Kyu Won’s words. “It’s the reason we lost today. None of use were in sync.”

Jae Young stood silently with his arms crossed. His lips pursed and looking away from everyone. Hana looked at each member and landed on Jae Young. “Aren’t you trying to find her?”

“We’re trying…”Se Bin sat back down in his chair and crossed his arms. “It’s not easy to find someone with their phone off.”

Sang Wook cleared his throat and fixed his tie up. “After I get off work I can help you guys.” The team nodded at his words. Sang Wook turned to Hana and her dad and gestured his head to leave backstage.

“Wait!” Hana stepped forward to the team clutching her phone. “Why not try to go out and find her? Or-”

“This city is too big to do that.” Jae Young pulled his lips apart to speak. “I bet she’ll come back after a few hours. She’s being annoying anyways.” The words came out harsher than he wanted.

Hana was taken aback. The image of Strawberry Milkshake smiling and working together shattered. “But you’re her support. How you can you say that about your teammate?”

Everyone looked at Hana with wide eyes. Se Bin, Kyu Won, and Min Woo looked up at Jae Young who took his eyes away from everyone. Sang Wook sighed and cleared his throat. “I think it’s best if we leave now.” He began to lead Hana and her dad the way they came in. Before leaving, he clasped onto Jae Young’s shoulder and took a step towards him. They could feel each other breath. “Listen up. Eun Ji is like my younger sister. You don’t ever get to dismiss her as an annoying nervous mess in front of me or I will be hurting those hands of yours so you can never grab a mouse again. Got it?”

Jae Young only glared back at Sang Wook. The two looked at each a second more before Sang Wook pushed Jae Young aside and left.

* * *

 

Back at the SKT house, Min and Kang were now frantically thinking of places to find Eun Ji. Her phone was off and Sang Wook couldn’t help because he still had to work. Min Woo tossed a ball into the air at Kyu Won. “Hyung. That girl wasn’t wrong.”

“Shut up!” Jae Young got up to leave the room. “I know she’s right but it’s not like I’m going to find Eun Ji and help her or something.” Before leaving he turned back to everyone else. “And why don’t you guys help me out?”

Se Bin rolled his eyes. “Because you’re the one who got on Sang Wook hyung’s bad side. We can go out and find her but if you wanna redeem yourself, go out and do some work.”

Kyu Won nodded at Se Bin. “Seriously. You came back to the house first and we looked around places we know she likes to go to already. Why don’t you pull some weight and find your teammate.”

The only thing that came out of Jae Young was a loud groan. “It’s her fault for always being an anxious nut bag.”

“No it’s not.” Min Woo caught the ball and threw it at Jae Young. It bounced off the door and rolled on the ground. “Hyung you barely know her as a person. Don’t make assumptions on someone you barely know personally.”

“Whatever.” Jae Young ripped the door open. “This is a waste of time but I’ll fucking do it.” With that, the door slammed shut making everyone jump from their seats.

* * *

 

Nightfell and Eun Ji was still missing. Jae young texted Sang Wook for any kind of help to find Eun Ji. His texts were brief with not chat saying ‘I’m only letting you help because I have to work. I’ve told Kang and Min not to call the cops. Here are places I can find Eun Ji when she gets like this.’ Jae Young continuously scrolled up and down the list of places to go. Reading it over and over to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.

The last place on the list was Mapo bridge. Jae Young stepped of the bus and quickly surveyed the area. There was a couple sitting in the pavilion cars zipped past him. Jae Young began walking down the bridge. The signs began showing up on the railings. The small phrases were easier to read now.

‘Was today a good day? It must be very hard. Do you have a secret? Look up at the blue sky. How about watching a good movie?’ At some point pictures began showing up on the signs. Different kinds of food and at some point people smiling at the camera that took the photos. Jae Young sighed and looked up from the signs. He had only had it a fourth of the way down the bridge. He looked back at the signs to continue reading the words.

* * *

 

Now he was halfway through the bridge. The signs stopped showing up. Looking up he saw a hooded figure leaning over the railing of the bridge. Slowly they went onto their tiptoes to try and lean over the railing. “H-hey wait!” There wasn’t a suicide hotline nearby to call. Jae Young darted to the figure and pulled them back from the railing. “You can’t just jump off the brid-”

The person slowly turned their head and looked up at Jae Young. “O-oh.”

“Eun Ji?” Jae Young’s eyebrows furrowed as he searched her face. Her eyes were shot red and her bottom lip was bleeding. Tears kept falling from her eyes with the tip of her nose pink and her cheeks flushed red. The scent of soju rose from her hoodie. “Were you trying to…”

“N-no…” Eun Ji wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I-if you lean over the railing, y-you get scared and-”

From his toes to the top of his head, Jae Young felt heat engulfing his body. “Are you fucking crazy?!” His hands started to grip her wrists. Eun Ji let out a squeal from the squeezing. “Why the hell did you run off after the game?! Manager Kang and coach Min almost called the police! Why are you being so irresponsible?!”

Eun Ji tried to pull away from Jae Young’s grip. Tears began to stream down her face, struggling to speak. Only a small squeak came out from her.

“Kim Eun Ji what’s wrong with you?!” Jae Young shook Eun Ji back and forth trying to spit an answer out.

Eun Ji pulled away from his gripped and stepped back. “Do you think I want to be like this?!”

For a moment only the sounds of cars passing by could be heard. Jae Young didn’t expect her to yell back. He struggled to speak for a bit before stuttering. “W-what do you mean?”

“Do you think I woke up one day and decided to be like this?!” The tears fattened as they dripped down her face. Eun Ji took deep breaths to break through her sobbing. “While you were training to become an esports athlete I spent my days failing school! My parents spent so much money hiring tutors to try and help me stop being so stupid.”

Jae Young blinked at Eun Ji and sighed. “Eun Ji you’re not stu-”

“Did you even properly go to school?” Jae Young shook his head and shut his lips tight. “The kids make fun of whoever is at the bottom. They write on your desk, ‘kill yourself’ and leave notes in your backpack about how useless you are. Do you know what that feels like?!” Again, Jae Young shook his head at Eun Ji’s question. “Sang Wook oppa was the only one who took care of me. I didn’t stay after school to study like everyone else. I just spent money at PC bangs. Do you think I got good at video games because I wanted to?” Jae Young stopped looking Eun Ji in the eye. “I got good because I wasted time and money sitting in front of a screen pretending my life was ok.” Eun Ji’s voice began to crack as she started to cough. “I even failed out of junior college!” Jae Young winced as her voice began to break down. Eun Ji moved her arms out to the railing to hold herself up. The coughing sounded worse at it continued.

Looking at his feet, Jae Young traced the ground with his foot for a bit. He thought for a bit before quietly speaking. “What happened today?”

Taking in a gasp of air the coughing slowed and quieted. “What?” Eun Ji’s voice scratched Jae Young’s ear.

“What happened today?” Slowly, he lifted his head up to look at Eun Ji. “Why did you get so anxious today?”

Eun Ji took another deep breath in and staggered as she breathed out. “I was afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Of you…”

“What?” Jae Young fell back a step as his shoulders stiffened.

“I know you don’t like me as a person. You prefer me as a teammate.” Eun Ji wiped her face with the sleeves of her hoodie. “I’m afraid you’ll hate me more if people keep asking if we’re dating. And people won’t stop asking that question. When coach Min said she was trying I just… couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways we would fall apart as a team because you didn’t want to be my support anymore or how you would leave because you were so annoyed from the question or how you didn’t want to be seen as a pair with me or-”

Eun Ji kept listing off all the scenarios she imagined. Jae Young watched as her body slowly started to shake again. Tears building up in her eyes and rolling down her face again. Jae Young could feel the blood rushing from his fingers and toes and pooling into his face. His mouth fell open but struggled to speak. Soon a single tear fell from his eyes. “Eun Ji…” Hearing her name made Eun Ji trail off from all of her fantasies. She turned her head and looked at Jae Young. “I’m… I’m so sorry…”

Jae Young stepped forward and Eun Ji took a step back. “W-why are you sorry? This is all my fault for reading that question and being so annoying to you and-”

In a leap, Jae Young reached out and wrapped his arms around Eun Ji. “I’m sorry for hating you.”

“B-but-”

Jae Young squeezed Eun Ji tightly, lifting her a bit. He couldn’t think of anything to say. More cars passed by and the sound of a bus stopping was heard down the bridge. The two listened to each other breathing. Eun Ji’s slowed down and finally became stable again. Jae Young’s staggered as he breathed in and silently sobbed into her shoulder.

After a few minutes, Jae Young gently let go of Eun Ji and wiped his eyes. “Eun Ji.” He sniffled a bit and held his hand out. “I’m your support right?”

Eun Ji looked down at his hand and back to his eyes. “Yes…”

“Then I’ll carry you.”

“What?” Eun Ji cocked her head to the side wondering what he was talking about.

“As your support I will carry my adc to victory.” Jae Young rached his other hand out to Eun Ji. “We won’t win in twenty minutes. It’ll probably take longer than twenty minutes. Hopefully, it will take over sixty years to win.” Eun Ji looked back at his hands and gently grabbed them. “However long it takes to win, I’ll help carry you to the victory you want to achieve.”

Jae Young squeezed Eun Ji’s hands and smiled. Eun Ji searched his face for anything that would contradict what he said. His eyes were relaxed and his smile was soft. She had never seen a genuine smile from Jae Young. Looking at his face made Eun Ji smile. Soon she began to laugh and more tears ran down her face. Jae Young’s shoulders relaxed and quietly began to laugh with Eun Ji.

Once the two stopped laughing, Jae Young put Eun Ji’s hands down. “Do you want to go home now or get something to eat?”

For a second Eun Ji thought about what she wanted to do. “I know a stand that I go to whenever I leave this bridge. They have ddeokbukki which is good to eat after you’ve been crying.”

Jae Young smiled and nodded. “Show me the way.”

Eun Ji skipped ahead and Jae Young followed behind. The numbers of cars began to dwindle and the night grew a little bit quieter. A boat passed under the bridge shining flashlights along the waters. Another bus slowed down to pick up the person at the stop before it drove off down the road. Jae Young looked out to the skyline and smiled.

* * *

 

Coach Min looked at her phone and placed her head on the table. “Where are they?”

On cue, the front door locked clicked. Min and Kang jumped to their feet and ran to the door.

Eun Ji and Jae Young winced as the door creaked open and began to tiptoe in. Suddenly the hall light turned on and Min ran over and hugged the two of them. “Oh my god! What took so long?”

It seemed like the whole house woke up. Doors began bursting open as people started to step out and run to the front door. Feet thundered down the stairs and some were shouting.

The first ones down the stairs was Kyu Won, Min Woo, and Se Bin. The three ran over and gave Eun Ji and Jae Young hugs. “Holy shit noona, hyung what happened?”

“Seriously what happened? It’s almost three o’clock!” Min placed her hands on their faces to make sure everything was ok.

The two looked at each other and back at everyone else. “We went and got some food.” Jae Young lifted the plastic bag in his hand up in the air.

Min rolled her eyes and laughed. “I can see that but what happened?”

Eun Ji opened her mouth but Jae Young cut her off. “I found Eun Ji and we went out to eat for a little duo meeting. Smoothed out what kept us out of sync.”

Kang nodded at the answer and clapped his hands. “Well, everyone was worried sick about you Eun Ji. I’m glad to see you here. So is everyone else.”

Eun Ji looked around at the people standing in the hallway. They began to look at each other and nod in agreement. There wasn’t any room to fit more than five people, but somehow everyone squeezed in. She saw all the other team members, even those who played a different game, gathered around. Slowly she bowed to everyone in the room. “I’m sorry for making everyone worry. I promise to work harder and become a better person.”

Jae Young bowed next for everyone. “I’ll also work on becoming better. For my team and SKT.”

A few cheered and clapped at the little speech. Kang laughed and turned the everyone. “Ok everyone go to bed. Especially Starcraft members. Remember some of you have a game later today.”

The reminder of a game got everyone chatting. Some upset that they had to play later that day. The hall slowly emptied out as everyone went back to their rooms.

Kang turned to Kyu Won, Min Woo, and Se Bin and waved them off. “Come on. You three go to sleep too.” Next he turned to Min and gestured his head to her room. “Min, I’ll take it from here.” Min nodded and waved goodnight to the three. Once the hall was empty Kang looked to Eun Ji and Jae Young. “I’m sure you two will have better games in the future. The reason we all live in this house is to grow as a team and as a family. You really made us worry Eun Ji.”

Eun Ji bowed again. “I’m sorry manager Kang.”

“But,” Kang waited for Eun Ji to look back up before speaking. “I hope you learned that even after only a few months of living here, that we all care about you.” Eun Ji nodded and smiled. “Jae Young.” Kang sternly looked to Jae Young. “I know you aren’t the biggest fan of Eun Ji. Hopefully, that’s changed.”

Jae Young bowed and looked back up. “Yes sir.”

“Good.” Kang pat the two on the shoulder. “Now go to bed. Crying makes a person very tired.”

Eun Ji and Jae Young nodded and went up to their rooms. Kang watched them go upstairs before heading off to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Korea has a very high suicide rate amongst the youth. I hope in the future the numbers can go down, but I kind of wanted this chapter to show some of the reasons that people commit suicide. There are obviously more reasons, but these are some of them.
> 
> Yes there really is a bridge called Mapo bridge that has signs on it to help stop people who want to commit suicide. It's nickname is suicide bridge and I've seen the hotlines calls and signs for myself.


	5. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear comes in many forms

2072

Lee Tae Yeon. Age 22. Occupation Starcraft pro athlete.

Taeyeon tossed her empty bottle into the recycling bin. There were very few days when esport athletes met up to do sponsorships and shoots for brands. The esports association kept a sharp eye on schedules of games and didn’t want athletes to lose practice time. The only way athletes could do these kinds of sponsors is after a few months of planning with the association, teams, and managers. Tae Yeon tip toed over to the group of athletes eating lunch. She sat back down in her seat and popped open a can of cider. “How many more brands do we have?”

“Let’s see.” A boy sitting across from Tae Yeon scrolled through his phone. “They asked some of the best esport athletes to come and have our faces in several different brands. We finished Bacchus energy and Caffe Bene since they wanted everyone to do those. Now we have more specific ones which are Coca Cola, flavored drinks from Lotte, and of course alcohol.”

Tae Yeon raised her eyebrow at the information. “Thanks Kyung Tae. Ugh whatever. We get free stuff anyways. I could kill for some more soju. Oooo will it be flavored?”

“Calm down Tae Yeon.” Eun Ji reached to her cup of water and took a sip. “You’re gonna sound like an alcoholic.”

“Ugh I love Starcraft and drinking.” Tae Yeon threw her head back. “One gives me money for the other but I can’t do the other because of the one.”

“You make no sense unnie.” Kyu Won scooped the rest of the rice out of her bowl and placed it down. “When are you done with Starcraft games? Let’s go to Octagon together.”

“It doesn’t matter. Our schedules don’t match up anyways. You’re in the middle of the summer split.” Tae Yeon pouted and reached out to Kyu Won. “You’re the only one who understands me Kyu Won.” The two held hands and whined.

“Oh my god shut up.” Jae Young lifted his head from his soup and flicked Kyu Won’s forehead. “You two are giving me a headache.”

Kyu Won rubbed her forehead and scoffed at Jae Young. “Oppa is grumpy as always. Why are you no fun?”

Eun Ji pinched Jae Young’s cheek and moved his face back and forth. “It’s because he hates everyone.”

Without looking Jae Young placed his hand on Eun Ji’s face and pushed her away. “Eun Ji I will break your fingers.”

“So cruel.” A girl down the table spoke up. “Now you’ll have to carry your adc to the hospital.”

The table laughed a bit and Jae Young shook his head at everyone. Tae Yeon stretched her arms up and nodded. “Mi Sook made a good point. Afterall she’s knows all about team sports.”

“You have a ‘team’ unnie.” Mi Sook put air quotes around the words team. “Just like us.”

“Kind of.” Tae Yeon put her arms down and pat the table. “But Starcraft is still single player so it’s all on you.”

Jae Young came back and sat down in his seat. “That’s why our games are called MOBAs. Multiplayer is a big part of the gameplay.”

Tae Yeon stuck her tongue out at Jae Young. “Blah blah yeah I get it.”

Kyung Tae looked up from his phone and turned it to show the screen to everyone. “Have you guys been keeping track of D.va?”

Everyone leaned in and looked at a picture of a girl sitting at her PC booth during a game. Some shook their heads and some nodded. “I don’t know Starcraft as well as other games.” Eun Ji turned her head back to her food to finish.

Tae Yeon nodded. “Yeah. All Starcraft athletes have been talking about her. Some say if she keeps up with how she’s performing, she can get to the top ranks.”

Kyung Tae took his phone back and placed it on the table. “I don’t know. Apparently she doesn’t stay on one team for very long.”

“What team is she on right now?” Tae Yeon leaned back in her chair. “I heard my manager is trying to grab her contract.”

“She’s on Afreeca right now.” A girl next to Kyung Tae spoke up. “But if she were on Jin Air Green Wings it would be better… or maybe not. I don’t know.”

“I mean, my team has been known for it’s strong Starcraft presence. Even after the game died about fifty six years ago, Jin Air Green Wings came back into the scene when Blizzard revived the game.” Tae Yeon began to swirl her can around. “So Sun Hee isn’t wrong that being on my team would benefit.”

A few people walked into the room and a man cleared his throat. “Ok ten more minutes and we gotta do some more shoots.” Everyone shouted ‘yes sir’ and people began finishing up their food and getting up. Tae Yeon crushed her can and tossed it into the recycling bin and headed out the door. Looking down at her phone she opened up Naver to find more news articles on D.va.

* * *

 

Hana scrolled through her phone and began squealing. Ha Sun looked up and put her hand up. “Before you say anything let me guess. It’s either all of your favorite esport athletes are posting selcas of them together or it’s about the potential brands you’ll start buying.”

“Both!” Hana turned her phone screen to Ha Sun. There was a selca posted by Taengoo captioned ‘Coming soon, flavored soda from Lotte! Drink lots of flavored cider from Lotte! Help me make money!!!!!’ And look! Strawberry Milkshake and Dark are in the background!”

Ha Sun laughed at Hana’s excitement. “Of course they pick the best players from each game to do these sponsorships. Taengoo being the most obvious and energetic about it.”

“That’s what makes her the best! I wanna be on her team so badly.” Hana clutched her phone to her heart and sighed.

“Stop changing which team you wanna be on in your head and in real life.” Ha Sun shook Hana a bit. “You’re only sixteen and you’ve switched between so many teams, no one can keep track anymore.”

Hana rolled her eyes. “I know. But I had to start with smaller teams at first. Now that I’m gaining ground I can get contracts with bigger teams.”

“Is Afreeca not good enough for you?” An eyebrow lifted waiting to hear Hana’s answer.

“I mean the ultimate goal is to be on SKT. The greatest esport team for over seventy years!” Hana’s phone began beeping loudly. Looking at the screen, Hana sighed. “Ha Sun I have to go back to the house. Sorry.”

Ha Sun smiled at Hana. “That’s fine. Thanks for coming to visit me and spend some time with me. I know you’re busy.”

“You’re busy too! I’m glad you had some time to hang out with me.” Hana reached out and grabbed Ha Sun’s hands. “Can’t break up Ha Ha.”

The two hugged each other and went off their own ways. Hana continued looking through social media to learn more about what Taengoo posted.

* * *

 

“Dae Sung!” Tae Yeon ran over and jumped onto his back. Dae Sung grunted and fell forward. Stepping out a foot to catch himself. “Carry me to victory!”

“No.” Straightening his back, Taeyeon fell to the ground. “You can carry yourself. After all, you’re used to doings things by yourself.” The smirk on his face reached ear to ear.

Tae Yeon gave out a small gasp and covered her mouth. “Dae Sung. I had no idea that you,” She stood to her feet and leaned into his ear. “Were so scandalous.”

“You literally never make any sense.” Dae Sung grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.

Tae Yeon pouted and lifted her nose into the air. “Just because Starcraft is a single player game doesn’t mean I do everything by myself. Mid lane needs help from time to time as well.”

“I have my own jungler” Dae Sung dipped down to Tae Yeon’s face and whispered “so I won’t be needing your help.” With that, he tossed the bottle in his hand into the recycling bin and walked over to the set crew.

Eun Ji walked over to Tae Yeon and gently placed her hand on her shoulder. “Um Tae Yeon. What was that?”

Tae Yeon batted her eyelashes and fanned her face. “Sigh he’s so dreamy.”

“Blah!” Eun Ji made a puking motion and pushed Tae Yeon away. “You don’t actually mean that right?”

Tae Yeon’s face scrunched with disgust. “Of course I don’t mean that! It’s fun to bother him because he plays along.”

Eun Ji looked over at Dae Sung and tilted her head. Him and the rest of his team were putting their SKT jackets back on for the next shoot. “He’s always so neutral at home. Are you sure nothing is going on between you two?”

“Unnie.” Tae Yeon slowly lifted her arm and leaned on Eun Ji’s shoulder. “I’ve known Dae Sung since our rookie days. He used to play Starcraft before becoming a mid laner for League.” Eun Ji looked down at Tae Yeon, still confused. “If you get to know him he’s a very fun, salty, energetic person.”

Eun Ji puffed her cheeks and spit the air out. “Oooooh kaaaaaay.”

“What about you and Jae Young oppa?” Tae Yeon stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. “I’ve known Jae Young oppa a bit in his rookie days too. He’s changed a lot after becoming your support.”

Eun Ji turned to Tae Yeon and clasped her hands together. “I know right?” The lights from the ceiling seemed to sparkle off her eyes. “He used to be such a jerk but now he’s actually quite playful with everyone and is much nicer.”

It wasn’t the answer Tae Yeon wanted. She made a circling motion with her wrist trying to pull more out of Eun Ji. “So… What happened?”

“Huh?” The confused look came back in a flash.

“What happened that made him change so much?”

“O-oh. Um…” Eun Ji looked down at her feet. “Well what happened is kind of-”

“All SKT members come over here and grab a can of Coca Cola.” A man from the other side of the room spoke into a megaphone.

Tae Yeon gave a smirk and a small laugh. “Well, looks like you’re off the hook unnie.” She wiggled her fingers at Eun Ji and sauntered off.

Eun Ji watched Tae Yeon walk away, her face still scrunched in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Jae Young stepped next to Eun Ji and followed her gaze.

“Tae Yeon is so… weird.” Eun Ji shook her head to try and get rid of any negative thoughts.

Jae Young squeezed Eun Ji’s shoulder. “Yeah she really is. Don’t let it hang in your head ok?” He smiled and pat her shoulder. Eun Ji nodded and the two headed over to the rest of the SKT members.

* * *

 

Hana replayed her most recent game over and over. The notes and drawings kept coming as she pinpoint every mistake and opportunity she had missed. “If I had built over to the east a minute earlier I could have taken out the horde sooner and-”

A knock came on the door and Hana paused her video. “Are you overanalyzing your match again?”

Hana looked at her screen and notes and back to her coach. “Sorry coach Nam. I just want to make sure I can learn as much as I can.”

Nam shook his head and sighed. “Hana you won that game. The mistakes you made were minimal compared to your opponent.”

“Coach Nam.” Hana gave a stern look to her coach. “If I want to become the best I have to learn everything about my playstyle advantages and weaknesses. I need to know all of my mistakes and how to improve for the next match. Even if it is miniscule.”

Hearing those words made Nam chuckle. “In the heat of battle you can’t keep everything in check. But if it’s what you want, then do what makes you feel better. Just don’t miss our team talk later today.” With that he walked off down the hall. Hana sighed and turned back to her screen. The mention of the team talk brought her mood down.

* * *

 

“Good job everyone! Thank you for giving us your time in your busy schedules.” The man bowed and so did the rest of the crew. The athletes bowed back giving their thanks to the man and crew. “Make sure to grab some products before you leave.”

“My pleasure.” Tae Yeon already had several bottles of flavored soju in her bag. She took her phone out again and opened up Naver. The multitude of articles on D.va were still open. She reached her arm out and grabbed someone’s forearm. “Ya, Im Yong Hwa.”

Yong Hwa froze and his body tensed. “Tae Yeon. What’s up?”

“What is your opinion on D.va?” She didn’t look up from her phone and kept scrolling through articles and statistics.

Young Hwa’s shoulders fell and looked down at Tae Yeon. His face scrunched with confusion. “Why are you asking?”

“Because.” Tae Yeon closed out of an article and opened another. “Almost every Starcraft player I know, which is every player, is afraid of her.” She finally locked her phone and looked up at Young Hwa. “I know you are. Even though you are one of the best Protoss players in the world, you know you can’t beat her.”

Young Hwa’s confusion slowly left his face and soon there was a smirk. “Tae Yeon. Are you telling me you’re afraid of someone younger than you beating you and taking your spotlight?”

Tae Yeon quietly growled. “No I didn’t say that. I only need to know what you think of her.”

Young Hwa had the power over Tae Yeon now. He crossed his arms and kept looking down at her. “How many Starcraft players have you been asking?”

“Just answer the question!” Her snap was louder than intended as a few heads turned to look.

Young Hwa rolled his eyes before answering. “Her dad is considered one of the best Starcraft players in history. You really think D.va is going to slow down?” Tae Yeon didn’t like where the answer was going. “I think she’s only going to accelerate and by the time next year rolls around,” Young Hwa leaned in centimeters from Tae Yeon’s face. “The whole world is gonna watch you fall to the hands of D.va.” Young Hwa kept his face close for a second longer. Tae Yeon kept growling under her breath, a fist clenched tightly. Soon, he straightened his back and blew a kiss to Tae Yeon. “Don’t frown too much, you’ll get lines.”

Tae Yeon huffed and stomped the ground. The place was emptying out with crew members pushing clothes racks away. “I’m fucked.” Looking over at the table of free items, she beelined to the soju and grabbed a few more bottles. Tae Yeon headed over to where her bag was. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and smiled. “Unless she signs onto my team.” With the idea in her head, she bolted to her stuff and ran to find her manager.

* * *

 

Im Young Hwa. Age 22. Occupation Starcraft pro athlete.

“Tae Yeon is so fucking obnoxious!” Young Hwa furiously shook his head before slamming it on the table. SKT had gone out to dinner and everyone miraculously fit in the tiny restaurant. There were two MOBA teams and himself sitting around picking meat off the grill.

Dae Sung reached out and dipped his meat in some sauce. “Just play along with her. She can only puppet you for so long.”

“Take your own advice Dae Sung.” Young Hwa lifted his head up and guzzled a shot of soju down.

“I know she’s playing me, but unlike you I know how to play back.”

“Yeah.” Min Woo looked up and pointed his chopsticks at Dae Sung. “You play her in bed not outside of it.”

Everyone began to ooo at Min Woo’s words and Dae Sung’s teammates all started playfully hitting him. Rolling his eyes, Dae Sung placed his chin on his hand. “Power play. I can tie a bow around her neck and drag her if I wanted to.”

Eun Ji choked on her food and grabbed her cup of water. “Can we not talk about these kinds of things. I’m trying to eat!”

Kyu Won leaned into Eun Ji with a mischievous smile. “What kind of meat will you be eating unnie?”

A small scream came out of Eun Ji as the table burst out laughing. “Ew! Kyu Won hold your tongue back!”

Jae Young gave a small laugh and handed a napkin to Eun Ji. “The only meat Eun Ji wants is the liver.” Eun Ji kept coughing and turned her head away from the table.

Kyu Won laughed at the weak joke and went for more food. “I’ll get good at the Gumiho combo one day. But for now, unnie will be the only one in esports who can land the ult stun, devour combo.”

“I can’t believe you’re still the only one who can do that combo.” Dae Sung shook his head at the thought. “I had to learn and master every single possible mid lane champion for League, how can no one in SMITE play Gumiho?”

“People can play her and sometimes land the combo.” Se Bin looked up from his phone. “She’s a good jungler and mid lane god but the risk of trying the combos has almost no reward for a lot of players. When I play Gumiho jungle it’s very passive. It’s better to get to late game before making aggressive plays.”

Kyu Won nodded at Se Bin’s words. “Mhm! Se Bin is right. High risk, high reward.”

“I bet I could do it.” Dae Sung’s teammates laughed at the words.

Eun Ji recovered from her coughing and raised an eyebrow at Dae Sung. “Is that a challenge?”

“SMITE is so much easier than League. I bet I can master Gumiho mid lane.” He raised a shot glass to the air and took it down.

“Um, excuse you, our basic attacks are skill shots too.” Min Woo spoke up at Dae Sung’s words. “In fact everything is a skill shot because it requires more skill to play SMITE.”

“There are way more mechanics in League that you couldn’t understand.”

“Those are fighting words Byung Chul.” Kyu Won slapped the table and both teams began arguing over which game was harder to play.

Young Hwa looked at them in disgust and rolled his eyes. He swirled the shot of soju in his hand and sighed. While he was annoyed at Tae Yeon, he knew she was right. Even though he had never versed D.va, her Protoss gameplay could easily blow him out of the water. Only time would tell if she could reach the levels he had worked so hard for.

* * *

 

“Manager Cheon!” Tae Yeon jogged over to her manager and hopped in front of her.

Cheon looked over at Tae Yeon and tilted her head to the side. “I know what that tone of voice means. What is it Tae Yeon?”

Putting on the most innocent look she could, Tae Yeon slowly swayed back and forth. “Are you going to grab D.va’s contract still?”

The question made Cheon scrunch her face. “I’m trying but so many other teams are trying to grab it. It’s hard to keep offering higher paying contracts. Why do you ask?”

“Hmm…” Tae Yeon pretended to think about the question. “I just thought it would be good for her to be on our team!”

“You’re not asking me this because you want to avoid versing her are you?” Cheon already knew the answer.

“Nooooo~ I just want a donsang on the team!” Tae Yeon could feel her heart racing. Cheon was definitely onto her now.

The two stared at each other a bit before Cheon broke eye contact. “Tae Yeon.” A heavy sigh left her mouth. “I’m trying whatever I can to get her on our team but I also need you to grow up a bit.” With that, she walked over to the team’s car leaving Tae Yeon behind.

“Fuck…” Tae Yeon pouted more and crossed her arms. A few other athletes from her team started to get into the car. Standing around for a few more seconds to clear her head, Tae Yeon went back to her phone to learn more about D.va.

* * *

 

Young Hwa stirred his coffee and waited for Tae Yeon to get back. The text he got in the morning was one he didn’t want to get. He had planned to stream more of his practice games. The GSL Season three was going to begin and everyone was supposed to be practicing. Instead, he got out of the house and walked out into the hot and sticky July summer sun. He looked down at his phone and sighed. It was only ten o’clock but it felt like he had been in the coffee shop for hours.

Tae Yeon fell into her chair and placed the cups of coffee on the table. “Americano for me and a regular black coffee for you!” She grabbed her cup and began drinking her Americano.

“Americano’s are disgusting.” Young Hwa grabbed his coffee and blew on it to cool it off.

“Black coffee is too.”

“I’m going to need something strong to save me.” He took and sip and glared at Tae Yeon. “Now please tell me why you wanted to meet up with me.”

“Are you preparing for WCS Globals?” Tae Yeon talked through her chewing at the straw.

Young Hwa choked on his coffee. “What the fuck. We haven’t even started season three calm down!”

Tae Yeon’s leg started shaking. “I know, I’m just you know curious on how you’re doing and what not.”

“Um… Tae Yeon.” Young Hwa put his coffee down and grabbed the Americano out of Tae Yeon’s hands. “What’s wrong? You never ask anyone how they’re doing. You can analyze every player by just looking at their highlight reels and finger placement.” The last bit was an exaggeration but it got the point across. Tae Yeon sulked back into her chair and ruffled her hair. Young Hwa took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. He could feel the regret flowing through his body already. “Tae Yeon if it makes you feel better you’re not the only one who’s…” The words trailed off as he watched her sit back up. “Who’s… scared…”

“What?” The confusion from her voice seemed genuine.

Young Hwa could feel himself wincing as the words slowly seeped out of his mouth. “A lot of other pros are scared too. We want to keep it on the down low so it doesn’t reach D.va’s ears.” Tae Yeon’s expression seemed stuck in permanent confusion. A heavy sigh left Young Hwa as he continued. “We know she’s not going to be competing for very long in the global brackets. Even though her skills are beyond anyone her age, she still hasn’t perfected them to get into the finals of the WCS.”

The words bounced off of Tae Yeon’s head. “How do you know?”

“SKT is watching D.va very very closely.” Young Hwa leaned in and Tae Yeon followed. “Manager Kang doesn’t seem interested in grabbing D.va’s contract, but our coaches are. Our Starcraft players and coaches have been watching and analyzing her gameplay. The coaches are hoping to find enough reason to get manager Kang to grab her contract and we’re trying to find her weak points.”

“So you’re saying that,”

“D.va isn’t good enough right now to get past the first bracket of the WCS finals.”

The two silently looked at each other, still leaned in over the table. Young Hwa’s could feel little worms crawling all over his skin. Telling Tae Yeon anything could become a double edged sword. After a few more seconds Tae Yeon slowly moved back into her chair. Young Hwa followed but the feeling of regret lingered.

“Well…” Crossing her arms and legs Tae Yeon looked away from Young Hwa and watched a couple get their coffee. “I guess I have time to get better.”

The response from Tae Yeon was not one he expected. “Wait. You’re not gonna try and like… I don’t know sabotage something?”

Tae Yeon grabbed her Americano and took a big sip. “I thought about that. But the great Taengoo doesn’t like to kill competition for her own gains.” She gave a wink and peace sign at Young Hwa.

“Yeah but Tae Yeon likes to.”

Grabbing her purse and phone Tae Yeon got up from her seat. “But I’m Taengoo on stage. The audience can’t know about Tae Yeon.” She wiggled her fingers and waved. “Thanks for helping me out Young Hwa.” Winking again before leaving the coffee shop. The bell rung at the door opening and closing.

Young Hwa could feel the blood boiling inside of him. He couldn’t tell if he fell for her tricks or if she really meant what she said. Yelling in a coffee shop was unacceptable especially with people trying to enjoy a nice morning. Reaching out he grabbed the cup of coffee and took a gulp of it. It was still hot. Young Hwa started coughing and grabbed his chest. Heads started to turn and before he could see their faces, he was already running into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink the coughing slowly came to a stop and his throat wasn’t on fire. Young Hwa looked into the mirror and sighed. “I’m going to die from Tae Yeon.”

* * *

 

Eyes were glued to the TV screens. A few crunches from chips came from mouths but everyone was occupied. News casters were frantically trying to keep up with what the drones were showing. “It has been a few years since the omnic monstrosity attacked the Korean peninsula. MEKA drones and mechs are currently fighting to disarm the monstrosity.” The newscasters continued to speak but no one paid attention.

“God… It’s tearing up south Jeolla like nothing.” Kyu Won munched on her shrimp chip as she watched the omnic tear through the land.

Joon Tae reached into her bag of chips and nodded. “Remember a few years ago? It almost leveled the mountain region of Gangwon. Leveled so many mountains there.”

Eun Ji brought her legs in and curled up into a ball. Her head resting on her knees as she started to rapidly whisper under her breath. Jae Young blinked from the screen and looked at Eun Ji. Leaning in he whispered into her ear. “What’s wrong?”

Her whole body was already shaking. Slowly she turned her head over to Jae Young and whispered back. “I have family that live in Gwangju…”

Without another word, Jae Young grabbed Eun Ji’s shoulders and dragged her closer to him. “The omnic hasn’t reached Gwangju yet.” He propped his leg under her bent knees and hugged her. “I’m sure the military will stop it before it gets there.” Eun Ji shook her head and buried it back into her knees. She leaned into Jae Young and tried to count to a hundred.

* * *

 

Tae Yeon switched between channels on both TVs. The views from the flying drones weren’t good enough for her. “God… this is awful to watch.”

“Noona just pick a channel. We all want to watch.”

For a moment Tae Yeon had forgotten the rest of the house was watching. A sigh left her before staying on two different channels. “Sorry Ji Hoon. I just… wish there were better views.” She placed the remotes on the table and scooched back into her spot. Everyone was supposed to be practicing today but the morning news made everyone change their plans. Tae Yeon sighed knowing that this week's games were going to be a downer for athletes and the audience.

* * *

 

The Afreeca house all huddled onto the couch and there were pillows on the floor. A soda can popped open as the screen showed the omnic shooting down the drones. Hana could feel her heart jumping from her chest. If the omnic had appeared more to the East she wouldn’t be able to watch.

“At least it’s in the countryside still…” Hana looked down at where the voice came from.

“Geon shut up.”

“It’s a good thing Yeong Ae. Once it hits Gwangju more lives are lost.”

“Lives have already been lost!”

The team hushed the two before they got into an argument. Hana’s eyes started wandering on the screens, trying to find a better position as more mechs got destroyed.

* * *

 

The whole country seemed to be holding their breath. Cars were still moving and the subway didn’t stop. No one could pretend that everything was ok and conversation all lead to the omnic in South Jeolla. Sang Wook walked out of the convenience store and and checked his phone. Nothing. “God this tension is killing me…” The sun was setting and the only thing on everyone’s mind was the omnic tearing through the south west part of the country. Sang Wook scrolled through his contacts and started a call. “Eun Ji pick up…”

* * *

 

“No no no no no no no-” Eun Ji’s whispering grew into an audible murmur. She sat the living room table rocking back and forth. Each screen showed a different angle and perspective of the omnic. Most had gotten up to go and eat or distract themselves. The house had to force Eun Ji up and eat throughout the day. MEKA had slowed the omnic down but it grew closer closer to Gwangju.

“All military units have shown up to help take the omnic down but it still nearing Gwangju. The city has been evacuating since noon, hopefully everyone will be safe. Military personnel say that the omnic will be-” The screen with the newscaster cut out. Another screen turned to static as the drone filming shut down. Eun Ji’s eyes darted to the other screens as drones began to shut down. Her hands slammed the table as she shot up from the chair. One last drone was flying as the omnic stepped into Gwangju’s outer boundary. The omnic noticed the drone and shot it down making the TV screen turn to static.

**“NO IT CAN’T!” The scream rang throughout the house. Footsteps could be heard rushing to the living room. Eun Ji couldn’t feel anything. Blood rushed to her face and her chest tightened. She could hear voices reaching out to touch her. Turning her head she saw blurs pass by. Someone’s hand was coming out to her. The ground seemed to slowly move to her face.

“Eun JI!” Jae Young reached and grabbed her arm before she fell. He slowly lowered himself to kneel on the ground. “Eun Ji! Are you ok?” Adjusting her to lay across his lap, Jae Young shook her a bit.

“Unnie!” Kyu Won crashed next to Jae Young and grabbed her hand.

“What happened to noona?” Min Woo fumbled with his phone and sat on the other side of Jae Young.

Se Bin knelt down next Kyu Won and looked at the screens. “What happened to the screens?”

Kyu Won lifted her fingers from Eun Ji’s wrist. “She’s still breathing and has a heart beat.”

Manager Kang and the coaches ran into the living room. “Take Eun Ji to her room.” Kang motioned for everyone to get up. “Gwangju is under attack.”

* * *

 

Tae Yeon could feel everyone frozen to their spots. The screens showed nothing but feedback. She tried to reach for the remote but her muscles wouldn’t react. Fingers and toes lost feeling as the ice seeped up to her chest. The lives of thousands of people didn’t cross her mind. How could the military fail?

* * *

 

Afreeca house dropped dead. Hana slowly opened her hand up and twisted her wrists. No one in the room had relatives or friends in Gwangju but it felt like everyone’s hearts stopped. Thousands of lives on line. Her arm broke free from the numbness as she reached for the remote. It was better to have the TV off.

* * *

 

Jae Young sat in the chair of the girls room. No one really had their own room since the house could only be so big. There were three teams for SMITE, two for League, and a couple of players for other games. It was impossible to have a room to yourself, except for now. For some reason the girls who used the room haven’t come back. Jae Young scrolled through the news on his phone to see the aftermath of the omnic. The military finally stopped it but it went back into the sea. All of the fights with the omnic have ended in stalemates. “How is there no way to defeat this thing?” Mumbling the words with disgust.

Eun Ji rolled onto her side and groaned. Jae Young looked up and watched as she tried to open her eyes. “Are you awake?” A cough came out of her as she pushed up on the bed to sit up. Jae Young got up from his chair and knelt at the side of her bed.

Blinking a few times, Eun Ji looked around the room. She rubbed her eyes and sat criss cross on the bed. Opening her mouth a small squeak came out. Jae Young giggled at the sound and immediately stopped. “Jae Young… What happened to Gwangju?”

The question made Jae Young laugh. “You don’t even want to know what happened to you. Sang Wook hyung has been calling you for hours now. Aren’t you going to get back to hi-”

Eun Ji furiously shook her head. “Please tell me. W-what happened?” Her voice started to shake and her eyes shined in the light. “I need to know.”

“Well…” Jae Young looked at his phone again to find the right article. He could hear Eun Ji let out a small sob. “The military stopped the omnic before it went past the outer boundary of Gwangju.” He scrolled down more to finish the article. “The omnic went back into the sea and Gwangju evacuated in time to avoid a high casualty count.” He could hear Eun Ji take in a deep breath. Locking his phone he looked up at her to see a relieved look.

“Thank goodness.” She was clutching at the blanket and began to pull it into her lap.

“How are you feeling?” It was a question Jae Young got used to asking Eun Ji. The other teammates started to pick up on it as well to make sure she was okay. If she wasn’t they would work on picking her up onto her feet.

Eun Ji chewed on the question for a bit. “I… I don’t know… I don’t really remember what happened after the news feeds were killed.” Jae Young nodded at the answer. The answer would suffice for now. “But,” Quickly his attention was brought back to Eun Ji. He turned his head to see confusion on her face. “Jae Young… Why are you in here?”

“Huh?” Jae Young didn’t even know why. He only wanted to check up on her and the girls left the room as soon as he got inside. “I think the girls left me to eat dinner. I’m not sure.” The more he thought about it the more he realized how empty his stomach felt. He could hear Eun Ji giggling at the answer. For some reason it was comforting to hear. “Do you want dinner? They ditched me to go eat food. I don’t know if I can forgive them.”

Eun Ji covered her mouth and nodded. She was still giggling at the idea of her roommates leaving him behind for food. Jae Young watched her smiling and soon laughed with her. If this had happened three years ago the end result would have been very different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Octagon is a night club in Korea. I've been there many times and it's considered one of the best clubs to go to.
> 
> Tae Yeon is one big reference to Taeyeon from SNSD, but as a character she is very different.
> 
> Yes the conversation between Tae Yeon and Dae Sung is just one big innuendo.
> 
> You can think of that one meme when Tae Yeon thinks about getting Hana on her team to avoid versing her, because that's what I thought of.
> 
> ** This is a weird translation because the phrase in Korean is "안돼" (ahn dwae) has different meanings based on context. In this context it means "no it can't be." Technically, Eun Ji is saying this phrase over and over before she screams. However, it seems weird to have her say "no it can't be no it can't be" over and over because saying "ahn dwae" is very short and can be said quickly like "no no no no." In the end, it just feels clunky for her to say the literal meaning before screaming.


	6. Taengoo vs Tae Yeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A person can have many faces

BlizzCon 2072 was going to be huge. Every year it got bigger and better. Tae Yeon flopped onto her hotel bed and took in a deep breath. She had a chance to meet international fans, take pictures of cosplayers, eat American food, and more. She rolled over and grabbed her phone from the bed stand and opened up KakaoTalk. She began calling Young Hwa and waited for him to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Young Hwa! Let’s go eat with everyone.”

* * *

 

Hana looked up at the screens with her eyes sparkling. The two weeks she was in America was such a treat. Since it was her first time in America the older athletes showed her around. She even got several selfies with Taengoo and HyuN, the two best Starcraft players in the world. Granted she was always with the other players when taking the selfies, it was good enough for now. The final Starcraft game was going on and despite her hard work, she wasn’t able to pass the first bracket of the finals. She had won in her group for the playoffs but the finals were a different stage.

“Taengoo is really pushing HyuN into a corner now. These two have always had interesting matches.”

“Yes, it was a stalemate for quite a while but Taengoo is releasing hordes faster than HyuN can put out defenses. They both have destroyed equal amounts but HyuN is really on his last leg here.”

Soon the screens showed Taengoo taking down HyuN’s last building. The crowd started chanting for Taengoo as HyuN’s building fell resulting in the game over screen.

“Ladies and Gentlemen Taengoo has won once again!”

“It’s gonna take a miracle to take the title of best Starcraft player from Taengoo.”

Hana jumped and down while clapping her thunder sticks together. Taengoo and HyuN got up from their booths and met to shake hands on stage.

* * *

 

All sixteen Starcraft players were scattered around the restaurant in their own little pods. While the majority of players were from Korea, Young Hwa liked talking with the other players since he did not get to meet them often. His plan to escape players he already knew failed when Tae Yeon followed him to his seat. Even though the table was meant for four people, Tae Yeon insisted on sitting right next to him. However, for the first time ever, Young Hwa didn’t feel like ripping his ears off. Tae Yeon didn’t make fun of him for losing to her again and she didn’t make a sly remark on the mistakes he made. Instead, he was able to sit down and have a regular dinner with a sane mind. At the same time, the lack of rudeness was disturbing him.

“HyuN nice job today.” Young Hwa looked over at the player from Germany. He had talked with many times in the past.

“Thanks ShoWTimE. Couldn’t build my defenses fast enough though.” ShoWTimE was a Protoss player like him, but didn’t make it past the playoffs.

“You two were neck and neck for most of the game. Equally talented and skilled players.” ShoWTimE looked up at Tae Yeon and reached his hand out. “Congrats on winning again Taengoo.”

Tae Yeon smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

“You’ve really improved on getting those swarms out. Fastest I’ve ever seen in the professional scene.”

A giggle came out from Tae Yeon. The attention and praise was starting to get to her. Young Hwa could feel the hours of gloating that would come later. “Oh it was nothing. Just gotta keep on improving.”

* * *

 

Hana took in a deep breath. She had only packed so many clothes and California was quite expensive. She double triple checked to make sure she looked on point. From her hair, outfit, and makeup, everything had to be perfect. Taking a few steps forward she walked into the restaurant where the other athletes were in.

* * *

 

ShoWTimE talked with Young Hwa and Tae Yeon some before getting up and going to another table. Young Hwa watched him leave and snapped his head back to Tae Yeon. “Why are you sitting and eating with me? You can literally do this anytime back at home.”

Tae Yeon rolled her eyes as she bit into her pizza slice. “Because I felt like it. Why? Did you wanna hang out with the non Korean players?”

Without thinking, he lightly slammed the table with a fist. “Was that not obvious?” Young Hwa could feel the blood rushing to his face.

“Young Hwa.” The voice Tae Yeon just used was not one he wanted to hear. It was at least two octaves lower than normal and much slower. She placed a hand on the fist he made and leaned into his face. “Do you know what’s not obvious?”

The blood in his face wasn’t there out of anger anymore. Young Hwa could feel his face turn light red to a much deeper color. “Tae Yeon I swear to god if you-”

“You.” Slowly, she leaned in closer and her lips met his ear. “Why do think I picked a table farthest away from everyone. It’s not so separated that people get suspicious but it’s also the perfect distance for people to forget we’re here.”

Young Hwa could feel her smirking. Her reasons behind her lack of insults became crystal clear. “Tae Yeon I really really do not think that this is a good idea.”

“Hm…” Just like that she peeled herself off of Young Hwa. “I don’t understand you.” Her hand reached out and pinched his cheek.

Young Hwa let all the air out of his lungs in one sigh. The blood slowly trickled out of his face and back to his fingers and toes. “I don’t understand you either.” He wondered how and why Dae Sung enjoyed being around Tae Yeon.

“I mean isn’t it natural to want certain desires?” Young Hwa looked over to see her sipping on her milkshake.

Still flustered he tried to gather composure before talking back. “Isn’t it normal to want those desires with someone you spend a lot of time with and consider a significant other?”

“I guess normal isn’t normal.” Putting the smoothie down, she went for another slice of pizza. “So why do you want to date someone?”

“Why do you not want to date someone?” He could finally pick up his fork again to finish the pasta sitting in front of him.

Tae Yeon shrugged at the question. “I’ve tried it before I became famous. I just don’t have that kind of attachment and feelings.” She turned her head and looked at Young Hwa. “Answer my question now.”

Young Hwa only wanted to finish his food. He would much rather have her insulting her at this point. “I tried it before becoming famous too and unlike you I have those kinds of feelings and attachment.”

“Who’d you date?”

“Just someone from high school. It was nothing serious. You know it was kind of like those simple high school romances they show in dramas. After a while we just broke up.” Young Hwa realized it was the first time he talked with someone outside of his high school days about his relationship.

Tae Yeon nodded at the answer. Her mischievous eyes had turned into softer ones. “Now ask me a question.”

“What?”

“This is fun. Ask me a question.”

“People don’t just tell other people to ask questions.”

“I like getting to know people and I like to tell others who I am.” For a split second her mischievous nature popped out before hiding back into it’s cave.

Young Hwa swirled his pasta up while thinking of a question. The fork had the pasta nicely rolled up and it touched his lips as he thought of a question. “Well since we’re talking about relationships.” He put the rolled up pasta into his mouth and chewed on it. Turning his head back to Tae Yeon, who was watching and waiting. “How did you and Dae Sung become… You know. Friends.” That wasn’t the right word for their relationship.

Satisfied with the question she grinned through her straw and put the milkshake down. “I think you’re the first person who’s ever asked me this.”

“Oh boy…”

“It’ll be a fast story.”

“Please leave out explicit details. I’m eating.”

“Ugh.” Tae Yeon threw her head back in fake frustration. “Fine. I can leave out certain details just for you.”

“Thank you.” Young Hwa went back to eating his pasta, waiting for the story.

“So I think it was about eight…” The words trailed off and Tae Yeon grew silent. Young Hwa could feel her body moving farther from his. He scrunched his face and looked up from his food at see what made Tae Yeon stop talking.

“Oh am I interrupting something?”

D.va stood in front of the two with her hands behind her back. She was wearing a pink top with a flowy skirt. The bag on her shoulder had a bunny face and she didn’t have the pink whiskers on her face. Young Hwa had never seen her outside of her team uniform and pink whiskers. The look on her face was on he hadn’t seen before. Her eyes were wide and filled with hesitance. The silence filled up between them. Young Hwa finished chewing the pasta in his mouth and glanced at Tae Yeon. She was shrinking back into her seat and had her arms crossed.

Swallowing the pasta Young Hwa opened his mouth to smooth out the air. “Hey D.va. What’s up?”

As if by magic the nervous girl in front of him disappeared and was replaced with an energetic one. “You remembered me! Oh wait I mean, of course you know me. But not in like that way because I’m not at your level yet but like from the past two weeks you remembered me and-” D.va kept fumbling with her words. It was the exact opposite of what he would see on stage.

“I mean all the Starcraft players know who you are.” Young Hwa gave a small smile to D.va hoping it would help her calm down. “You’ve made big strides in the pro scene. It’s hard to ignore.”

For a moment it looked like her eyes sparkled. “Really? I’ve been practicing a lot so that I can become one of the best Starcraft players in the world.”

“Well the practice is showing through.” Young Hwa looked at Tae Yeon who was now swirling her milkshake straw around. She rarely let people see her out of her personality. He turned back to D.va and gestured at an empty chair. “Do you want to join us?”

D.va practically jumped at the question. “If that’s ok with you.”

“Of course.” Suddenly he felt something strike his shin. To cover up the pain he started to cough and turned his head to Tae Yeon. She only gave him a glare before her face became bubbly.

“D.va did you eat yet?” Tae Yeon’s voice went up two octaves but to many people that was her normal voice.

D.va shook her head. “No I haven’t eaten yet. I got out of the convention center late taking pictures of everything. It’s my first time at Blizzcon and America. I just want to save everything.” She grabbed for the menu on the table and looked through it. “Honestly, I didn’t go to school for very long before I started training so my English is a bit rusty.”

Tae Yeon giggled at D.va’s words. Young Hwa had to stop himself from cringing at the absurdity coming from Tae Yeon. “I’m sure you’ll be here again next year. The excitement goes away and gets replaced with a sense of comfort. Right HyuN?”

Being called by his stage name by Tae Yeon was unreal. Young Hwa was tempted to slap his face to see if he really was awake. Tae Yeon’s eyes were wide and filled with fire. Quickly he cleared his throat and sat up. “Taengoo’s right. Being here will feel just as comfortable as being at home. Plus, Disneyland is across the street.”

“Really?!” D.va perked up hearing about Disneyland. “I’ve never been there.”

“Yeah after the con a bunch of esport athletes go over there to celebrate finishing up another year of gaming.” Young Hwa could feel Tae Yeon’s gaze burning into his skin. “I can show you around too.”

“Wa~ HyuN you’re so considerate off stage too.” The fascination stayed on her face as she looked back down at the menu to figure out she wanted to eat.

Young Hwa blinked once and looked up at Tae Yeon. Now her face was filled with blood boiling to the top. Giving the biggest smirk he could, Young Hwa mouthed ‘You’re welcome.’

* * *

 

Tae Yeon had a whole month before GSL season one started up in January. A few players were still in the house but many had gone back home to spend time with family. Technically they were required to stay in the house to keep practicing, but Manager Cheon let them go as long as they promised to practice over break. Sitting criss cross on her chair she rewatched her matches from globals. Writing down as many things as she could. The fact Young Hwa was able to hold his defenses so long had bothered her. He had improvement so much over the past seasons.

“Tae Yeon.” A knock came from the doorway and Cheon walked into the room. “I feel like you’re the only one here.”

Tae Yeon took the headphones off and looked up at Cheon. “I didn’t really plan to go down to Busan for the holidays. Plus my family already planned to come to Seoul for vacation.”

“That’s nice. As long as you're not rotting away in the house by yourself.”

The plans Tae Yeon made were already racing in her head. “Don’t worry I’ll be going outside to breathe fresh air.”

“Good.” Cheon smiled and grabbed a chair to sit next to Tae Yeon. “Hey remember how you said you wanted a dongsaeng in the house despite the fact you’re one of the oldest ones here?”

“Yeeeeah I do.” Tae Yeon didn’t feel good about the question.

“Well you got your wish.”

What Cheon just said concerned Tae Yeon. She could feel her body be pushed back into her chair. “What?”

Cheon chuckled a bit before continuing. “I was able to grab D.va’s contract.”

The world seemed to slow down around Tae Yeon. “How?! Isn’t every team trying to outbid each other?”

“Not every team. SKT is the only one who won’t try to get her contract.” Tae Yeon thought Young Hwa was lying but SKT really didn’t care about her contract. “After Blizzcon her manager came to me and said D.va would sign onto our team.”

It wasn’t unheard of for a player to pick a team but it usually didn’t happen because the cost of the contract was important. “So she just chose to be on our team?”

Cheon nodded and got up from the chair “Yup. She’ll be moving in in a few days and since you so desperately wanted her on our team,” Tae Yeon could feel Cheon’s words slapping her across the face. “You’ll be the one to show her around the house and get her acquainted with everyone. We’ll even have to take a new team photo.” With that Cheon left the room.

Tae Yeon threw her head back and groaned. She looked at her phone and opened up KakaoTalk. “Who’s still here to grab a drink with me?”

* * *

 

The taxi came to a stop and Cheon thanked the driver. Hana flew out of the taxi and looked at Jin Air Green Wings house. “Wah~ This place is huge!”

“Well,” Cheon opened the trunk and grabbed her bags. “Korean air and Jin airlines both have a lot of money to provide a nice house for the team.” She waved at the taxi driver who drove off. “Most of the house members are out on vacation so you’ll have time to explore without distractions.”

Hana grabbed her bags and nodded. Cheon motioned her to follow her into the house.

* * *

 

After unpacking everything, Hana walked around the house. Her bedroom was shared with other female Starcraft players and the rest of the bedrooms were all on the same floor. The house had a lot of space and the team logo was almost everywhere. It wasn’t a strange sight but it was her new team logo. Manager Cheon said she would be receiving her new uniform before GSL season one started. She would be going blue to green uniforms. Of course, she still wanted to wear the bright red color of SKT.

Hana looked around for the training rooms. Cheon said everyone got their own PC to use. As she turned the corner she could hear a voice. Tilting her head to the side, Hana followed to voice. There were no doors so she peeped around the doorway. PC’s lined the walls and all the chairs were pushed in.

“What do you mean by that? Well fuck you too. Ugh yeah we gotta take new team pics before break ends. I mean all teams retake them every year so I’m used to it. Our jackets are not ugly! They have a military like style and color to them. Our team color is green because we’re green wings. Why are you guys red?”

The voice was one Hana had never heard before. Peeping further into the room she could see someone’s feet propped on top of the table.

“I mean we can’t pick team colors since the companies have made their logos ages ago. Clearly green beats red since I took you down at globals.”

The person who won globals was Taengoo. “Taengoo?”

Hana’s voice was louder than she thought. Taengoo’s feet flew up from the table and she heard the chair furiously roll back. “Oh shit. Young Hwa I’ll Katalk you later. Try and get other players to come with ok?”

The chair rolled back and Hana heard footsteps come towards the door way. Letting out a small gasp, she straightened her back and brushed herself off. Taengoo made her way out the room and turned to Hana. “Oh hey you moved in today?”

Having her idol stand in front of her was surreal. Getting to live with her idol made her feel dizzy. “Yes! Manager Cheon picked me up today. She said not a lot of people are in the house right now so I wanted to look around.”

Taengoo nodded and smacked her lips together. “Well welcome to Jin Air Green Wings. Our house is a bit bigger than other houses and a bit out of the way but we all still have lightning fast internet and good food.” Hana couldn’t wrap her mind around the difference in Taengoo’s voice. It was much lower than she was used to hearing. “How much of the house have you seen?”

“The living quarters and a lot of hallways.” Hana felt her brain melting away. It seemed so lame to say she saw hallways.

“I got lost too don’t worry. Were you here to set up your PC?”

Hearing Taengoo dismiss what she said made her feel better. “Yeah. I just don’t know which one it is.”

Taengoo started chewing on her cheek and looked into the training room. “I don’t know either. We’ll have to ask the coaches later.” She looked back at Hana and gave a faint smile.

Now the silence began to settle in. The two just stared at each other. Hana frantically tried to think of what to say. She never expected Taengoo to be quiet. “So who were you talking to?”

“Hm?” The question made Taengoo tilt her head to the side. “Oh you totally heard that conversation.” She waved her hand in the air and rolled her eyes. “I was talking with Young Hwa. I’m trying to meet up with other Starcraft players who aren’t busy for dinner.”

“Are you and HyuN close?”

Taengoo let out a snort and covered her mouth. “You only have to call us by our stage names in public eye and interviews. Privately just call us by our names.”

Hana nodded and took note in her head. “Sorry um Tae Yeon un-” She hesitated to call her unnie. It felt so informal. Tae Yeon nodded and gestured her to continue. “Unnie. I’m just so used calling everyone by their stage names. I mean I grew up watching everyone with those names so it’s hard to break the habit.”

“Did you call Afreeca teammates by their real names?” The voice sounded annoyed and her arms were crossed.

“Yeah I did.”

“Then it’s the same thing. Don’t hold me up on some kind of pedestal just because I’ve won WCS.” Tae Yeon put her hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair. “I would start calling other athletes by their real names too when we’re out of the spotlight.”

Hana nodded at the words. It was gonna take a while to call everyone by two different names. “I’ll try my best unnie. It’s just so weird to have the best Starcraft player talking to me in person and not just through Twitch chat.”

Tae Yeon blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. “You watch me on Twitch?”

“Yeah. I’ve been subscribed for a long time now and followed you on Twitter and Instagram!” Hana opened her phone up and showed it to Tae Yeon.

“Oh you’re precious!” Tae Yeon reached her hands out and lightly pinched her cheeks. “Who else have you been looking up to?”

* * *

 

Tae Yeon had showed Hana around the entire house and introduced her to anyone who was in the house. Now she taking her out to dinner. Since it was going to be with other Starcraft players Hana wasn’t too worried about meeting everyone. Tae Yeon stood outside the restaurant with her phone to her ear. “Young Hwa where is everyone?” Hana took a look around to see if anyone one was nearby. It felt weird that no one recognized Tae Yeon. Someone as famous and well known as her should have been recognized.

“Why didn’t you Katalk me or call me earlier?!”

On the other end of the line Young Hwa had his head cradled in his free hand. “I did call you! You literally ignored every single call.” He had to step outside of the restaurant to take Tae Yeon’s call. “I forgot we had a small house dinner planned, plus all other Starcraft players had plans or are practicing for season one.”

Tae Yeon rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Fine. I’ll just go somewhere else.”

Young Hwa rolled his eyes and walked back into the restaurant. “Hold on Tae Yeon.” Anything involving her sent regret up and down his spine. He went back to the table and knocked on it. “Hey is it ok if Tae Yeon comes over? I accidently screwed her plans over and I feel bad.” The few SKT members looked at each other. Some were shaking their heads and some nodded. “Oh my god we’re hopeless.” With that he walked back out and put the phone back to his ear. “Wanna join SKT for dinner?”

Tae Yeon’s face scrunched up at the idea. “Not really. I’m not apart of the team plus I was gonna try and get D.va more comfortable around other players. She thinks I’m some kind of untouchable goddess.” Quickly she looked around to make sure Hana didn’t hear her.

“I mean isn’t that what you wanted?” Young Hwa could hear her in pain.

“No it’s not what I wanted. I want to be praised for my skill not be put on some pedestal.” Tae Yeon tried to keep her temper and voice down.

“Look.” Young Hwa groaned at the words that were gonna come out. “It’s your fault for not answering my calls but I feel bad. I’ll Katalk the address and just come over here. Besides, you used to be on SKT so it’s fine.” With that Young Hwa hung up and quickly typed the address out to Tae Yeon.

Tae Yeon took the phone down from her face and sighed. “Ya, Hana.” Waving over at her new teammate. “There’s been a change of plans. Wanna eat dinner with SKT?”

Young Hwa plopped back into his seat and sighed. “I invited Tae Yeon over so prepare yourselves.” He poured himself a shot of soju and downed it.

“Fantastic. I needed a headache.” Dae Sung rolled his eyes and went for the soju bottle. “I thought we agreed to not invite her.”

“It’s because that girl D.va is with her.” Young Hwa scooped his rice and shoved it in his mouth.

“D.va?” The whole table turned their heads at Young Hwa.

“You mean that young new player who’s been getting a lot of attention lately?” Jae Young looked back down at his food after asking the question. The whole house knew of her because of the coaches begging for Manager Kang to go for her contract. Even those who didn’t always have an eye on Starcraft knew her.

Young Hwa nodded and grabbed more meat from the grill. “Yeah that girl. I don’t know why but they’re together right now.”

* * *

 

Eating dinner with SKT seemed like a dream. In fact the whole day felt like a dream. Meeting her idol and now meeting the team she wanted to be on. It was upsetting that SKT didn’t make an offer but Jin Air Green Wings was a setup in Hana’s mind. Afterall she became Tae Yeon’s teammate. Following closely behind Tae Yeon as she walked into the restaurant.

Tae Yeon slid the door open almost barging in. “You guys are so fancy. Getting the private room and everything.” Her shoes were already off outside the room and was beelining to an empty spot. “Meet my new teammate. Hana ‘D.va’ Song. Can someone hand me the lettuce?” The words came out of her mouth so fast Hana couldn’t keep up.

She took her shoes off and gingerly entered the room. Sliding the door closed and bowing to everyone in the room. “Hello it’s an honor to meet everyone.”

SKT looked up at Hana and waved back. Tae Yeon motioned to the empty spot next her. Hana nodded and grabbed a pillow and plopped next to her. Without missing a beat everyone went back to eating and their conversations.

Looking around the table she could see and name everyone. The excitement bubbled up inside. She covered her mouth to stop herself from bursting but it didn’t work. “HyuN it’s good to see you again!” She gave a small wave as Young Hwa hung his mouth open with food so close. “And Dark and Snoopy and Honey Bee and Byeol!” Her head snapped to across the table and let out a small gasp. “And Strawberry Milkshake! Oh my god I love you guys so much! You’re coordination and gameplay are amazing. The perfect duo lane.”

SKT looked at each other and Tae Yeon smacked her face. Eyebrows were raised and some were mumbling. The realization of not listening to Tae Yeon’s advice slowly sank through Hana’s mind.

Milk began chuckling and soon burst into laughter. “She reminds me of someone.” He turned his head to Strawberry with a smirk.

Strawberry gasped and pushed him away. “I was not like that!”

Soon the table exploded at her. “Oh my god Eun Ji yes you were!” Snoopy was the first to poke fun. “It took you forever to stop calling me Snoopy in the house!” Everyone chimed in to tell stories of Eun Ji’s starstruck phase.

Hana felt her shoulders relax and her lungs fill with air. The image of the cool and level headed Strawberry being starstruck was comforting. Clearing her throat she spoke up over the rambling mess of words. “Strawber- I mean Eun Ji unnie, you did the same thing too?”

Eun Ji let out a light groan. “Well that’s what happens when a total nobody signs onto the most successful esports team and has been watching pro players for years.”

“Three years later and all the kids are looking up to her now as an idol.” Milk reached out for more food, still smirking. “She even knew me when I was on Incredible Miracle.”

“Of course I knew you Jae Young!” She lightly smacked his arm making him drop the meat onto his rice. “You lost so many times I would watch your games to see all the mistakes you made.”

The table started laughing again at Eun Ji’s words. Jae Young pinched her cheek and growled at her. Next to Hana she heard Tae Yeon begin to laugh. She had been quiet since she sat down. “Oh get a room already.” Her voice had a mischievous tone that Hana had never heard before.

“Say that for yourself.” Jae Young immediately snapped back.

Dark snorted and pointed his chopsticks at Tae Yeon. “Careful, she might take you to one.”

Young Hwa made a barfing noise and pretended to gag. “There is a minor at the table. Could we at least have a normal conversation for once?”

“Dae Sung~” Tae Yeon swirled a shot glass around. “If you were so desperate you should have told me.”

“TAE YEON!” Young Hwa made a throwing motion at her.

Dae Sung laughed at her words and sipped at his soju. “You wish sweetheart.”

“DAE SUNG!” Young Hwa’s face was red as he tried to fall back into his pillow and relax. “What did I just say?”

The table laughed as Young Hwa and Dae Sung went off on what was appropriate to say and what wasn’t. Honey Bee reached out and placed a piece of galbi on Hana’s bowl of rice. “Come on, eat up.”

“Oh.” Hana didn’t realize she hadn’t eaten anything yet. “Thank you…” She hesitated calling Honey Bee by her real name. It just didn’t feel right.

“Kyu Won.”

“Kyu Won unnie.”

Kyu Won placed her hands on her face and squealed. “Ah~ Being called unnie is so much fun!”

“Weirdo.” Eun Ji mumbled the words as she ate at her lettuce wrap.

“Shut up unnie!” Kyu Won’s voice reached an octave more than Hana ever heard. “You’re always gonna be older than seventy-five percent of the house!”

Tae Yeon took her chopstick and hit the side of her shot glass. “Ok everyone shut up for like five seconds.” She grabbed a soju bottle and poured some into her glass. “A toast to my teammate Hana.” Lifting the glass up into the air and passing it over to Hana.

“Tae Yeon she’s not old enough to drink!” Eun Ji reached out and put the shot glass down.

“Oh come on unnie. Let her live a little!” Tae Yeon gently moved her hand away and tried to give the shot to Hana again. “We’re all old enough to watch her so it’s fine.”

Eun Ji scrunched her face and reached out for the shot again. Jae Young grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “She has a point. It’s only one shot.”

“Don’t encourage her Jae Young!” Eun Ji lightly slapped her hand and tried for the shot again. “Joon Tae oppa stop her!”

Joon Tae looked down at Hana and back at Eun Ji. He closed his eyes and let out a fake snore. “Snoopy is too tired and can’t see what’s happening. Yawn.”

Eun Ji continued to pout as the table laughed. Tae Yeon smiled and handed the shot off to Hana. “And now for the rest of us.” One by one she filled up everyone’s shot glass with soju. “As I said before, this is a toast to my new teammate and dongsaeng Hana. Now it’s a toast to her first shot of soju.”

Hana looked at her glass and up at everyone else. Arms were raised up already and waiting for her to raise hers. “Well I was gonna start drinking someday.” She grabbed her glass and put it up into the air.

“Cheers!” Everyone went in and clinked the glasses. Hana watched everyone take their shot. Looking down she brought the glass to her nose and gagged.

A small giggle came from Tae Yeon. “Don’t smell it. It’s always bad the first time. Just drink it without thinking.”

“Ok. Here goes nothing.” Hana winced as the glass came to her mouth. Taking in a deep breath she leaned her head back and took the soju down. It was bitter and she could feel her throat burning up. “Blah!” Hana began to cough from the burn. She could feel flames in her nose as her eyes watered a bit.

“Better than my first time.” Tae Yeon gently hit Hana’s arm and smiled.

“Everyone has a better first time Tae Yeon, unlike you.” Dae Sung hid his smirk behind his shot glass.

Young Hwa let out an enormous groan. “I just want one dinner where we don’t go this way!”

“Dae Sung.” Tae Yeon leaned across the table and reached out to him. “If you pay I can show a good first time experience with-”

“Ah I don’t wanna hear it!” Eun Ji covered her ears while shaking her head.

“I agree with noona.” Young Hwa raised his hand and pointed at Hana. “How many times do we have to point out the MINOR at our table?”

Dae Sung looked down at Hana and back at Young Hwa. “Huh.” Both his hands went up and cupped Hana’s ears. “Can you still hear me?” Hana wasn’t expecting him to cover her ears. Nodding to answer the question, Dae Sung smacked his lips and pressed against her ears. He must have said something but she couldn’t hear anything.

Seeing she couldn’t hear Dae Sung turned his head back to the rest of table and said something. His hands lifted from Hana’s ears to shield himself from Young Hwa hitting him. Eun Ji was furiously shaking her head and Kyu Won and Tae Yeon covered their mouths from laughing.

Byeol’s face was scrunched from Dae Sung’s words. “I don’t if I should be disgusted or turned on right now.”

“Byung Chul just look down.”

This time Eun Ji went to hit Dae Sung. “Young Hwa and I just want a normal dinner!”

“Pfft” Byung Chul rolled his eyes. “Should have seen team dinners when Tae Yeon was still on SKT.”

This was news to Hana. After all the years of carefully watching all the pro players she had never known that Tae Yeon was on SKT. The small smirk that rested on Tae Yeon’s face diminished. She reached out for some food and sighed. “That’s in the past.” The lettuce wrap in her hand has hastily made. “Anyways are your SMITE teams ready for SWC?”

Jae Young, Eun Ji, and Kyu Won began speaking over each other about their preparations for SWC. Hana felt herself sink back to let everyone else talk. She still had to get used to calling everyone by their real names.

* * *

 

Everyone had eaten their fill and said bye to Tae Yeon and Hana. SKT left together back to their house. Tae Yeon sighed and began walking towards the main street.

Hana looked at her phone at see the time. Twenty-three o’clock. A tiny gasp came out of her. “Unnie it’s already so late. We’ll have to call a cab now since the subways are closed.” Hana looked up from her phone to see Tae Yeon walking away. “Unnie?”

Tae Yeon reached into her coat pocket and took out a small vape. “These kinds of nights are the ones I wish I had a real smoke.” She brought the vape to her mouth and took in a deep breath. “I shouldn’t even have said that outloud.” Smoke formed around her head slowly turning into wisps as she moved through them.

“Unnie…” Hana skipped forward to catch up with her. The cold was already beginning to bite her toes. “Aren’t we gonna go back to the house?”

Another puff of smoke rose. “Yeah we will.” Hana walked beside her to watch her take another breath in. “I’m a little peeved right now that’s all.”

“Oh. What’s wrong?”

“Identity crisis.”

The answer was so immediate and strong. Hana stopped walking for a second before taking a bigger stride to catch up with Tae Yeon.

“I’m kidding.” More smoke covered her face. “I had a lot of plans for my break. So far none of them have happened. I’m sure you don’t wanna hear it but I’m quite deprived of certain kinds of actions.”

It took Hana a second to figure out what she was talking about. She could feel her face burning behind the scarf wrapped around her neck.

“Not gonna lie I had plans with Dae Sung later tonight but I cancelled.”

The two kept walking down the street as Tae Yeon continued to produce more smoke puffs. Hana could smell the sweet flavored scent seeping from the smoke. It was too cold to take her hands out of her pockets, but she could feel her hands fidgeting.

“Don’t worry about it though. I’m just a very needy person. In many aspects of my life. Plus,” Hana looked back up at her to see Tae Yeon looking at her. “I’m too drunk to go back to the house right now. Manager Cheon would kill me if I came back home like this.” A small smile returned to Tae Yeon’s face before vanishing. “Use this time wisely. I’m not always this open and talkative even if my persona says otherwise.”

Hana nodded and began to go through a file of questions she had stored away if a day like this ever came up. “What’s your favorite free time activity.”

A loud snort escaped Tae Yeon and smoke left her nose. “Is that not obvious?”

“Hm… Ok not the best question but,”

“It’s doing drugs.”

“What?!” Throughout the day Hana’s image of Tae Yeon cracked and broke down. Now the whole picture was shattered. Any large pieces left were continually broken until only dust of glass was left.

“Kidding. It was before I had to clean up. People would smoke or pop whatever they wanted and then go to PC bangs. I didn’t hang out with the greatest people and I dropped out of school pretty early. After I passed my tryouts for Star I really had to shape up. My rookie days weren’t very pretty.”

Hana tried to go through her files and what she knew about Tae Yeon. “When did you start becoming pro?”

“I was your age. Sixteen years old in the year 2066. I was immediately offered a contract with SKT and I moved here to Seoul.”

Hana was only ten years old. At that age she was going to school and casually playing Starcraft with her dad. There was no way she could have known about any pros. “But… why did you leave SKT? They’re the best team to be on! So many people to wish to be pro and so many want to be on SKT. How come you left?” It seemed absurd that anyone would want to leave. It was her dream to be on the greatest esports team and Tae Yeon got in on her first try.

The smoke started to lessen and Tae Yeon turned her vape off. “Manager Kang treated me very nicely. Almost like a daughter when I was on SKT. He saw some kind of potential and had me train for three years. Every year I failed to debut because I failed some kind of drug test.”

“Oh…” No one ever talked about Tae Yeon’s past in interviews. Not even her online profile had this much on it.

“Young Hwa was one of the few team members who watched out for me. I know I bother him a lot but he’s kind of like a brother.” She chuckled a bit before continuing. “Sometimes he’s real cute but he’s determined to date someone unlike me.” Tae Yeon pushed her breath out to create a puff of air. “At some point I just felt like a burden to SKT. They spent so much time and money and resources for me to debut. I just decided to leave and sign to a different team. Jin Air Green Wings was the only team that would let me sign. Manager Cheon and Kang know each other since they played together when they were younger.”

“You signed in 2069 right?” This is where Tae Yeon’s online profile started. “Your first year was rough but after that you won globals twice in a row.”

“Yeah. I actually left right before Eun Ji unnie signed onto SKT. That’s why I don’t know her and her team as well as Dae Sung, Byung Chul, Joon Tae, Young Hwa, or any other older SKT member.” Tae Yeon stopped walking and went over to sit at a bus stop bench. “Signing onto Jin Air let me recontrust my persona and appearance. I’m Taengoo to the world and Tae Yeon when I’m on my own.” Her head leaned back to look at the sky. “I feel sick talking about all this.” Eyes were closed and lips shut tight.

Hana let everything sink in. All of her favorite athletes wore the persona veil. Sometimes it just seems that who they were in the spotlight was who they were in real life. Hana thought about her persona for a second before shaking her head. No need to think about that now.

Tae Yeon stood up and waved a taxi down. “Come on. Last chance for any questions.”

Hana got to her feet and stood next to her. “How did you go from, you know, an average pro player to the number one Starcraft player?”

A taxi began to pull over and slow down. Tae Yeon looked at Hana and smirked. “Because. I had to become the best to show everyone that Tae Yeon wasn’t a deadbeat.” The taxi came to a stop and Tae Yeon stepped into the back seat. Hana followed and listened as Tae Yeon told the driver where to go.

* * *

 

Manager Cheon pinched Tae Yeon’s cheek and dragged her to the bathroom. “Lee Tae Yeon! How much did you drink? I better not find cigarettes in your pockets! Brush your teeth before you sleep right now!” Tae Yeon was giggling at Cheon and followed her instructions. “Hana.” She turned to Hana who was watching the ordeal. “Nothing weird happened right?”

“No ma’am. Unnie just took me to dinner with some of SKT.”

“Hm…” Cheon turned back to Tae Yeon and tied her hair back. “You’re not making her lie right?”

The water in Tae Yeon’s mouth spurted out. “No she’s not lying!” She continued laughing as Cheon nagged her to stop drinking so much.

Watching Tae Yeon laugh and joke with Manager Cheon felt refreshing. Like the ocean's waves gently engulfing her body. No one in Afreeca was like this with their manager. Hana covered her mouth as she giggled at the scene.

“Hana.” Cheon looked over at her and smiled. “I hope your first day wasn’t a disaster. Now go to bed. It’s late.”

Hana bowed at Cheon and walked off to her bedroom. Slowly pushing the door open she looked inside to make sure no one was disturbed by her. Seeing her roommates still sleeping Hana smiled and made her way to her bed. The thought and curiosity of wanting to know her favorite athletes stories kept her up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Korea Starcraft is referred to as 'Star'. I am going to begin doing that since I didn't do it before.
> 
> ShoWTimE is currently a German Protoss player who didn't make it past the playoffs in the 2016 WCS. I decided to reference him here.
> 
> Young Hwa's stage name, HyuN, is a reference to the Korean Starcraft player Ko Seok Hyun who uses the same stage name.  
> Dae Sung's stage name Dark is a reference to Korean Starcraft player Park Ryung Woo who uses the same stage name. It's also a play on Dae Sung from Big Bang where his nickname is D-Lite.  
> Byung Cheol's stage name Byeol is his name put together. Byeol is the Korean word for 'star'.
> 
> "Why is everyone eating Korean barbecue when you write about them eating? No one eats barbecue that often!"  
> Yes. Yes they do. Barbecue is a HUGE social thing in Korea, NOT just for special events. Barbecue is cheap when you go together as a group. I had barbecue at least once a week when I was in Korea. I would pay about ten dollars each time and eat about ten plates of meat with my friends.


	7. Blend Strawberries and Milk with sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Strawberry Milkshake has to have some extra ingredients

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are gonna be a lot of notes at the end

The holiday season passed by in a blink. SKT had partnered up with several TV stations and idols to do special promotions. Photoshoots, holiday music videos, reality TV shows, and more were pumped out. Eun Ji flipped through a few photos of SKT and other teams in their cheesy holiday work. The house wanted to order fried chicken for dinner and Manager Kang crumbled at everyone’s request. It didn’t take long for the smell of grease and garlic to cover every square inch.

“Guys look at Sun Hee from Samsung. She’s so cute!” A group of teammates gathered around someone’s tablet. “Samsung did some of the coolest holiday stuff.”

“Obviously. It’s Samsung! That company is a monster. They could buy your life.” The guys laughed and continued looking through Samsung’s advertisements for their electronic products.

Young Hwa looked leaned back into his chair. “Don’t be fooled. Sun Hee looks cute but she can be really scary.”

“Hyung, how do you know that?”

“I was on Samsung remember. Getting on her bad side was like having five packets of Shin ramen shoved down your throat.”

Eun Ji smiled at the group and went back to looking at the teams photos. It was normal to have the adc and support duo paired off in almost everything, especially if the duo was popular. Every photo of Eun Ji had Jae Young in them as well.

“What’s wrong noona?”

Looking up, Min Woo was now sitting across from her. “What do you mean?”

“Noona. You’re frowning.”

Eun Ji brought her hand to face and touched her cheek. There was no awareness to the face she was making while looking at the pictures. “I didn’t know I was frowning.”

“What are you looking at?” Min Woo pointed at the tablet in her hand. Eun Ji gently passed it over to him so he could see. “Noona.” His eyebrows furrowed together as he turned the screen around. “Are you frowning at the picture of you and Jae Young hyung?”

“I don’t know. I guess I am.” Eun Ji could feel something tugging at the string in her brain.

“But why?” Min Woo handed the tablet back to her. “It’s just a cheesy holiday promotional photo. It’s nothing much.”

She knew he was right. The little something slowly began to the pull the string out, unraveling the spun up string. Taking in a deep breath Eun Ji tried to keep the string tied up.

* * *

 

Atlanta, Georgia was very pretty in Eun Ji’s eyes. It was the team’s third year at Hi-Rez Expo. SKT brought the male, female, and co-ed SMITE teams to HRX. The Paladins teams came along as well. If Korean esports had counsel players there would have been even more people on their team. Xbox and Playstation were not in the spotlight the same way the PC was. Eun Ji looked out the window of her hotel room and sighed. Four days to play and see which team would take home the victory.

* * *

 

“SKT has been dominating in esports for so many years. I would not be surprised to see them take home first place in every game and division played at HRX.” The commentators closely watched the game for the finals. “Their co-ed team actually forced so many other teams to follow suit and create a whole new twist in esports.”

“Yes their co-ed team has been winning left and right at HRX this year. So far SKT has won in the male and female divisions for SMITE and Paladins. We just gotta wait to see how Paladins is going and where this game goes for the co-ed teams.”

“And it looks like SKT has called a switch! Eager is going to have to be on their toes for this one.”

“Support moved to solo, solo moved to jungle, jungle moved to adc, adc moved to mid, and mid moved to support. SKT is calling the big shots with this one.”

On the big screens, SKT pushed Eager into Fire Giant pit. Health bars depleted as the announcer called out a deicide. “SKT has taken Eager down and won’t even be taking Fire Giant! They’re rushing to finish now! It’s only been twenty minutes and the titan is going to fall!”

“Ladies and gentlemen SKT co-ed team wins game three and SWC 2073!”

The crowd roared with their thunder sticks. SKT jumped from their PCs and hugged each other. The two teams got up from their sides and met to shake hands. “SKT has come a long way to get here. Remember their first year here they weren’t allowed to compete because there were no other co-ed teams.”

“Yes I remember that too. To showcase them SKT asked that they verse the winning male and female teams of SWC 2071. Ever since then, teams left and right have been creating co-ed pro teams left and right.”

On stage SKT gathered around the trophy of Thor’s Mjolnir as Eager left the stage. Everyone put a hand on Mjolnir and lifted it up on the count of five. Flashes from cameras drowned the stage and the crowd of people turned into a mushy sea of hands and thunder sticks. Commentators tried to speak over the cheers but lost their voices.

* * *

 

“Cheers!” SKT sat around five tables pushed together. The pizza place had to be called in advance for all six teams, coaches, and Manager Kang to fit and be fed. “SKT won all three divisions in both games at HRX this year. This is a huge accomplishment not only for SKT but for every single one of you and even to our country.” Kang was standing at the head of the table holding up a cheap beer. “To our Paladins teams I am glad that you play a game that may not be as popular as others but do it because you all love the game. To our SMITE teams I am proud to see the improvements we’ve made. A special thanks to our co-ed team for putting in extra hours of practice to prove that co-ed teams can exist and caused such a huge shift in how esports is played.”

The team cheered at Kang’s words. “Thank you Manager Kang!” Kang bowed at everyone’s clapping and hollering. The coaches asked everyone to gather together as they took a team photo.

* * *

 

Kyu Won squinted at the pizza bar. Everyone was making their own pizzas and sharing their creation with each other. Some even went up for seconds with different combinations the restaurant offered.

“Noona.”

Kyu Won didn’t stop looking out at the bar. “Se Bin what’s up?”

“What are you looking at noona?” Se Bin slid over to the chair next to her to see where her eyes landed. Other SKT teammates were gathered around the bar making their next pizza. Not everyone had the best English, but it was enough to communicate and talk with the pizza makers. America really liked making it’s own food. “Seriously noona what are you looking at? Everyone’s just making pizza.”

Without saying a word Kyu Won lifted her finger and pointed over at the far side of the bar. Jae Young and Eun Ji were chattering at what kind of pizza they wanted. “I have a serious question for you Se Bin.”

“Oh no.”

Kyu Won knew he was rolling his eyes. After three years of living together and being teammates, they all knew each other to a tee. “Have Jae Young oppa and Eun Ji unnie been extra close lately?”

“You have got to be kidding right now noona.”

“I said this was serious!” Breaking vision from the two her head snapped to Se Bin. As she suspected he read uninterested all over his face. His chin resting in his cupped hand as his arm rested on the table. “We all know they stick together a lot but lately I feel like they’ve been extra sticky.”

Se Bin’s face twisted at the end of her words. “That doesn’t even sound right.”

“That’s not the point. I want to know if-”

“What are we talking about?” Min Woo slid into the chair on the other side of Kyu Won along with his pizza.

“Hyung, noona is being weird.”

“I am not!” Kyu Won whipped her head to Min Woo. “Oppa take my question seriously!”

“Ok.” His words muffled by the slice of pizza he shoved into his mouth. “This is seriously the best pizza that-”

“Oppa!” Min Woo snorted and began coughing on the mouthful of pizza. “See that’s what you get for not taking me seriously.” Kyu Won pouted and turned her head back to the bar. Jae Young and Eun Ji were still waiting to make their pizza. “Hul!* Look!” Her hands reached out and grabbed Se Bin and Min Woo’s arms.

The two turned to look back at the bar. Eun Ji was gripping onto Jae Young’s forearm, roughly pushing him back and forth. Jae Young was also grabbing her forearm but wasn’t shaking her. He was instead laughing as she desperately tried to push him back.

“Hyung and noona do that all the time.” Min Woo grabbed the next slice and sipped on his coke. “He probably said something as a joke and she’s pretending to be upset about it.”

“Ugh!” Kyu Won rolled her eyes as her head met the table. “That’s not it either! Like… How they interact lately is so much more intimate I swear!”

“Noona you’re going crazy.” Se Bin pushed his chair back and tried to get up.

“No I’m not!” Kyu Won’s arm shot out and pulled Se Bin back.

“Well…” Min Woo took another sip before taking his next bite. “Before we came here for HRX Eun Ji noona was upset about a photo.” Peeling his eyes off of Jae Young and EUn Ji, he turned his head to look at Kyu Won and Se Bin. “You know that super cheesy Christmas photoshoot we had where we advertised food since our stage names are eighty percent food related.” The two nodded and waited for him to continue. “Well Eun Ji noona was looking through them and I noticed she was frowning while looking at them. When I asked why she was, she didn’t even notice she was frowning.”

“What picture was she looking at?” This was the information Kyu Won was expecting. She leaned in closer as if that would give her all the answers.

He chewed up his food and swallowed before continuing. “It was the one where the two of them had to face each other, hold hands, and smile at the camera. The one a ton of photographers use to be as cheesy as they can be with duos.”

Kyu Won blinked a few times. “But they’ve done dumb stuff like that before for the masses. Why was unnie frowning at that picture?”

“How am I supposed to know? Noona didn’t even know why.” Min Woo went back to eating his pizza.

“But does no one else think that they are closer now a days?” Frustration built up in her head.

“Noona, they’ve always been close ever since that day Eun Ji noona ran off after our first loss.” Se Bin was twirling his finger on the table, making imaginary patterns.

Min Woo nodded and wiped his hands with a napkin. “No one knows what happened since they don’t talk about it but noona and hyung have changed for the better and that’s all that matters. Hyung isn’t a rude asshole and noona has become more stable and open. In the end we shouldn’t care about their relationship.”

“But-”

Se Bin’s hand covered Kyu Won’s mouth. “Noona shut your mouth.”

Trying to protest Kyu Won wiggled around and pried Se Bin’s hand off her mouth.

“What are you doing?” A soft spoken voice came up from across the table. Kyu Won froze and turned to see Eun Ji and Jae Young standing on the other side.

The three stared at the two in silence. Se Bin lifted his hand from Kyu Won’s mouth and quickly flicked her side with his other hand. Min Woo slurped his coke before scooting his chair back. “I’m gonna get more coke.” Bolting out of the situation.

Se Bin cleared his throat and reached out for the pizza he left behind. “Kyu Won noona is just saying weird things as usual.”

“I am not!” Her attention snapped back at Se Bin greeting him with a swift slap across his arm.

Eun Ji covered her mouth as she laughed. She always tried to cover her face when expressing any kind of emotion. It was a habit the team had been trying to break but it never worked. “I’m sure Kyu Won is saying perfectly normal things.” Pulling out the chairs in front of them, the two sat down at the table.

“You weren’t here to listen to our conversation.” Another slap across the arm went out to Se Bin. Kyu Won never hit him that hard it was just to make him shush.

“Seeing How Kyu Won is acting I’m sure it was something weird.” Jae Young seemed to wear a smirk on his face at all times. Se Bin reached out for a high five while Kyu Won fell back into her chair and pouted.

Min Woo came back with his coke and started talking with Jae Young and Eun Ji. Kyu Won crossed her arms and carefully watched the two. They both had their arms bent on the table and their shoulders touched. It wasn’t unusual but she couldn’t shake the feeling away.

* * *

 

There were a few weeks before the new season in SMITE started. While they were still obligated to stream and practice the coaches gave them time to take a break. Eun Ji and Jae Young sat in front of their PCs talking to chat about various things. Many congratulating them on their win and some asking about their opinions on the new season.

“I really like the support item changes.” Jae Young glanced back and forth from chat to the game they were playing. Eun Ji suggested they play some ranked joust since she hasn’t played in a long time.

“You always like the support changes.” Eun Ji mashed the keyboard a few times to land a triple kill. “What do we do with item and god changes since we switch? Well we always have our primary roles practiced the most. Coach Min sets time aside for us to practice other roles on certain days. It takes a while but we’re all very versatile in all the roles.”

The titan falling animation began and the two high fived each other. “Ok that was the last game for today. Tomorrow is our day off so no stream but you can watch others streaming.”

“Strawberry Milkshake signing off!” They waved bye at the cameras and shut off their streams. After three years of being together it became easy to read when to speak at the same time and when to take turns.

“Nice! It feels good to play some joust games again.” Eun Ji leaned back into the chair and rolled it out a bit.

“Sorry you can’t play duel when we’re queued up together.” Jae Young swiveled his chair to face her. “I mean we could make a custom game but we gotta get more worshippers.” He stuck his leg out to reach Eun Ji’s chair and pulled her back to the PC desk.

Eun Ji puffed her cheeks up and pressed them with her hands. “That’s fine. I can do ranked duel on my own time.” The words that came out didn’t make any sense since she didn’t really have her own time anymore. As much as she loved being an adc she missed a bit of her individuality. It was always Strawberry and Milk. Never them separate.

“If you had your own time.”

The two sat around silently for a bit. Eun Ji peeled her eyes away from Jae Young’s. She could feel him trying to read her.

“Come on.” Jae Young pushed himself up from the chair and reached out to Eun Ji. “Let’s get something to eat.”

Eun Ji nodded and grabbed his hand. He pulled her up and the two made their way to the kitchen. Most of the on season house members were eating their late lunch right now. They were scattered around discussing what to do in future matches. Jae Young walked over to one of the many rice cookers and popped it open. Eun Ji took out two bowls and placed them next to him. She shuffled to the kimchi refrigerator** to grab a few different kinds of kimchi. Jae Young brought the bowls of rice to one of the tables in the living room while Eun Ji placed a bowl of various kimchis down. The female League of Legends team was at the table next to them breaking down their latest match. A small group was sitting in front of the TV watching the news.

“Do you know where the rest of our team is at?” Eun Ji picked up her chopsticks and began chowing down. “I haven’t heard Kyu Won’s voice at all today which is weird.”

Jae Young chewed up his kkakdugi and thought about the question. “I thought she went back to visit her parents for the day?”

“Ah.” Mentioning parents reminded Eun Ji that she hadn't visited hers in a very long time.

“Se Bin and Min Woo both said they were just gonna take this day easy. Probably going out to see other friends.” Jae Young had his head down at his food.

Parents and friends. Eun Ji looked down at her bowl of rice, sighing at the words. She went to grab some rice but her hand moved away from the bowl. The string in her brain was being pulled on. She shook her head to try and push away whatever was pulling at the string.

“Eun Ji.”

A hand reached out and pulled her up from sinking. Looking up her eyes met with Jae Young’s. He had his hand on top of her fist and gave a small squeeze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah…” Even after her three years of recovering it was still hard to say what was on her mind. Clearing her throat, Eun Ji pushed the plug away. “I just… was reminded that I haven’t seen my parents in a long time… and that I don’t have many friends outside of the house and just…”

Jae Young’s hand turned so he was now holding hers. “I haven’t seen mine in a while too.” Whenever he was genuinely smiling his eyes turned into little crescent moons. Eun Ji found it charming that she was someone who got to see them. “Most of their friends are from elementary or middle school. You know they don’t hang out for long since you change so much from when you’re younger. Having a family like the SKT house is better in the end.”

Eun Ji took in a deep breath to calm herself down. Manager Kang, the coaches, and housemates have said similar things to her before. “You’re right. Thanks Jae Young.” She lifted his hand up so she could interlock their fingers. In order to let him know she was better she gave a squeeze and let go of his hand. Thinking about it, they did many small gestures with each other.

“God I’m so annoyed that Samsung beat us again.” A member from the female League team burst out. She turned the tablet around to her teammates to show a picture. “Sun Hee is a freaking monster! I don’t think anyone can beat her top lane game.”

Eun Ji giggled at them and went back to eating her food. The League of Legends teams have been in a slump lately. While they still won many games they weren’t performing as well as the coaches and fans expected.

“Hey.” Jae Young tapped on Eun Ji’s hand to get her attention. “When we finish eating wanna go see that new movie everyone is talking about?”

“The one with Hyun Bin?”

“Yeah that one.”

Eun Ji quietly clapped her hands together. “Everyone says it’s so good! So dreamy and handsome.” The smile on her face was wiped away as she thought about it. “Wait… why do you wanna see that movie? It’s those kinds of movies with a predictable and cheesy romantic plotline.”

Jae Young shrugged and ate more of his food. “I don’t know. I thought it would be fun to laugh at.”

This was very strange to Eun Ji. Her brows furrowed together at the thought of Jae Young wanting to see a romance movie when it was his least favorite genre. “I don’t understand…”

He rolled his eyes at her and leaned in a bit. “Is that a yes or no?” There was fake annoyance in his tone. “Because the movie starts in an hour and I’ve already bought the tickets.”

“What?”

* * *

 

Eun Ji rushed to finish her food, brush her teeth, and change. She couldn’t understand why he chose to watch a movie in a crowded neighborhood at the center of the city. Jae Young hated being in large crowds and being around people in general. The subway dinged and the intercom voice announced the next stop. Jae Young stood in front of Eun Ji watching for their stop. When a seat opened up he grabbed her arm and gently moved her to sit in it. He hadn’t said a single thing about where they were going. Eun Ji looked down at her phone to see the time. Thirteen forty seven o’clock. The movie was supposed to start in thirteen minutes.

When looking up from her phone her eyes met with Jae Young’s. They’ve stared at each other before but this time Eun Ji had a hard time holding it. Tempted to look away Jae Young opened his mouth. “Next stop.”

Eun Ji nodded at his words and slowly turned her head to look somewhere else. There weren’t many people on the subway at this time. A few students were gathered together looking at a phone and quietly chattering about something. Most of the passengers were just in casual clothing minding their own business. A ding came from the intercom as the voice announced the next stop.

“Come on.” Jae Young reached out and grabbed Eun Ji’s arm. “This is the stop.” He didn’t need to hold her arm. The subway came to a stop and he led her out of the car.

From the subway, up the stairs, and onto the streets he held her arm. Eun Ji understood holding onto someone if there were a lot of people but the streets weren’t crowded. “Jae Young…” She took a step away from him to try peel his hand away.

Jae Young looked down at her arm and dropped his hand. “Sorry.”

Silence filled the small space between them. Eun Ji could feel her heart trying to leap out of her chest. It wasn’t unusual to be quiet with each other but she couldn’t stop fidgeting.

“What’s wrong?” Jae Young looked back at her. Eun Ji didn’t even realize he had grabbed her hand. The fidgeting slowly ceased and her heart began to sit back in place.

“Nothing.” She squeezed his hand to let him know she meant it. Jae Young nodded and let go of her hand.

“The theater is right there.” He pointed out to a building a block away. “We should probably hurry up though.” Once again, he reached out and took a hold of her arm. Eun Ji nodded and the two dashed over to the theater.

* * *

 

Jae Young went to get his tickets approved while Eun Ji waited around concessions. She watched a group of friends buy a tub of popcorn and begin eating out of it together. Everything was meant to be shared. No one bought a tub of popcorn for themselves, unless they were foreign. She had seen multiple cases of Americans who were visiting buy popcorn and ask why there weren’t listings for other sizes. Whenever they received their popcorn, they were shocked to see how big it was. Almost all food was meant to be shared with whoever you were with.

“Do you want anything?” Jae Young came up behind her and gently tapped her shoulder.

“Eun Ji looked at the menu and at Jae Young. “No it’s fine.”

“Not even mango flavored popcorn?”

Eun Ji laughed at his words. Mangos were still popular as ever. “I really don’t want anything.”

A little smile glided onto his face. “Ok let’s go.”

They walked over to the theater and peeked in. Commercials were still playing through. Eun Ji sighed in relief and stepped in. Now she was the one grabbing Jae Young’s arm and stood up on her tiptoes to reach his ear. “Where are we sitting?” She didn’t want to disturb anyone and this was the only way to whisper.

Without a word, Jae Young walked over to the closest set of seats. “Here.”

Eun Ji looked at the seats, back at Jae Young, back at the seats, and once more at Jae Young. “Jae Young. These are couple seats.”

Sliding over to the seats and taking a seat he looked over at Eun Ji. “Do you not like them?” He gestured Eun Ji to come over and sit down.

Breathing suddenly became extremely difficult. There was a knot in her chest and something blocked her throat shut. Her arm was shaking as she reached out to grab Jae Young’s hand. Once their fingers touched, he curled them to gently pull her into the chair. It wasn’t hard to tell that Eun Ji’s whole body was shaking. Jae Young cupped his hands around her hand and squeezed them. Eun Ji took in a deep breath and adjusted herself to properly sit down. The movie had started and Eun Ji just had to relax.

* * *

 

Eun Ji couldn’t relax. She was still sitting up pretty straight in her seat. Even though there was an option to recline it was untouched. The movie was a blur and she couldn’t stop fidgeting with her hands. Occasionally she made glances over to Jae Young. He had reclined his seat a bit and was slouching a bit. The look on his face was very flat with little variation to it. It always looked like that when he had no real interest in something. Eun Ji’s leg began shaking. Why did he bring her to a movie he wasn’t interested in? Was he upset with her about something? Did she force him to do something he didn’t want to do? What happened recently to-

Jae Young suddenly sat up from his seat and reached across Eun Ji. His eyes were still on the screen as he pressed the button to recline Eun Ji’s chair. Jumping a bit in her seat, she covered her mouth to keep from yelping. Once the seat had reclined evenly with his seat his arm went over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “Don’t shake your leg. Just relax.”

Eun Ji took in several large breaths before feeling her heart calm down. Slowly her mind cleared up all the clouds to just focus on relaxing. She hesitated a bit but her head eventually met with Jae Young’s shoulder. Her body started to loosen up, slowly melting into the seat. Jae Young took his eyes off the screen and looked down at Eun Ji. A soft chuckle left him before he followed her actions of leaning back into the seat. Things were much more comfortable now. Jae Young felt very warm and comfy. Quickly shuffling a bit to move in closer, Eun Ji was finally able to watch the movie.

* * *

 

“God that plot was so obvious and the ending was there to just make people happy.” Jae Young was listing off everything he disliked about the movie. As the credits were rolling by the two had a hard time getting up. It felt like someone had installed magnets into their arms. Eun Ji could feel her body pulling her back as she got up from her seat.

“Of course it was. No one comes to these movies expecting a sad ending. We watch them to see the events leading up to the end.” Eun Ji was standing much closer to Jae Young than she usually did.

The two made their way to the escalator. Jae Young rolled his eyes as he stepped on the escalator first. “I guess but it’s still not as enjoyable with a generic storyline.”

Eun Ji stepped on next. Now the two were the same height. She was next to roll her eyes. “Then why did you pick this movie if it wasn’t going to be enjoyable?”

Jae Young turned to look Eun Ji in the eye. “Because I found it enjoyable with you.”

Eun Ji quickly blinked at his words. Her eyes popped open and she could feel her heartbeat out of her chest. People have said things were enjoyable with her before but no one said it the way Jae Young said it. She could feel her face burning up even feeling a little dizzy.

Jae Young reached out and took hold of her arm. He could probably see everything going on on the outside to the inside. “Don’t fall ok?” There was a smile on his face as he held her.

The escalator came to an end and the two hopped off of it. Eun Ji looked at her phone to see the time. It was almost sixteen o’clock.

“What do you want for dinner?”

* * *

 

Dinner wasn’t anything special. Eun Ji couldn’t think straight enough to pick a place to eat so Jae Young did. So far the whole day was filled with enjoyment and anxiety. One moment she would be overthinking the situation and the next she would be relaxing and having fun. At least dinner was as normal as it could be. They talked about gaming and other interests while having their soup.

Now it was getting to rush hour time. The streets filled up with a flood of people leaving work or rushing to dinner plans. There were students walking around either ditching classes or going to study. Jae Young looked irritated at the number of people but he also seemed to know this would happen. They had to get back to the house before it got too late since they had to get up early for training.

Nineteen o’clock. The time after finishing dinner to now was mostly spent trying to get on the buses and subways. There were so many people each bus and subway would already be filled to the brim. Eventually there was bus and subway that had enough room for the two to squeeze in.

The subway dinged and announced the next stop. Jae Young grabbed a hold of Eun Ji’s hand. “Let’s get off this stop.”

“Why?” Eun Ji looked to see what stop it was. The words that ran across the screens read ‘Mapo.’ Before Eun Ji could ask why they were getting off at Mapo, the subway had come to a stop and Jae Young was already bringing her out of the car.

He was still holding her hand as he walked over to an exit. A couple was walking down the steps to the subway. They were excitedly talking about something and holding hands. Eun Ji wiggled her hand a bit before he let go of it. Hand holding was something couples did not two friends. Jae Young didn’t seem bothered by this and continued to walk up the stairs.

When reaching the top of the stairs Eun Ji could see Mapo bridge. She hadn’t been to the bridge at night for a long time. Jae Young continued to walk to the stairs to get on the bridge. Eun Ji skipped forward to catch up with him. Each step up the stairs made her heart jump. Why was Jae Young bringing her here? Lights from the cars blinded her eyes. All of them were just sitting there unable to move in the traffic.

Continuing to trail behind him, they finally made it to the center of the bridge. Jae Young turned around to see if Eun Ji was still following. He stopped walking and leaned against the railing.

“Jae Young…” Eun Ji jogged a bit to catch up and stopped next to him. “Why are we here?”

He looked away from her and his gaze went out to the city skyline. Eun Ji sighed and leaned against the railing with him. She looked up at his face hoping it would give some answers. Jae Young fumbled with his thumbs a bit. “I’m sorry Eun Ji. I made you worry all day long didn’t I?”

Eun Ji opened her mouth to answer but the answer didn’t come out. She could only nod to say yes.

“God… I’m such a cowardly jerk.” His gaze continued to look out and away from Eun Ji.

“W-why would you say that?” It was very rare for Jae Young to say negative things about himself.

“I should have just told you what I wanted instead of making you worry.”

“Wha-”

“I like you Eun Ji.”

Eun Ji was taken aback. “Well…” That one sentence could mean anything. “We wouldn’t be friends if you didn’t like me.”

“No.” Jae Young completely turned his body to face her. “I mean I really like you. I don’t want to care for you as a friend anymore. I want to care for you as…” His eyes dropped contact with hers and he looked down at the ground. “A girlfriend.” The top of his teeth were biting at the bottom of his lip. “Today was supposed to be a date but I didn’t have the courage to tell you that. Especially after we finished streaming. It seemed like you were upset that we were always together as a duo.”

Eun Ji had never seen Jae Young like this. He was always confident and sturdy. If the team was ever falling apart he was the one to calm everyone down and pull things together. Always speaking up when no one else could. Her heart was beating out of her chest. It wasn’t agitated though.

“Jae Young.” Hearing his name made Jae Young slowly look up at Eun Ji. “Thank you… Thank you for taking care of me when you didn’t have to and taking me out today. I… I’m not upset at you. I’m just… Still getting used to being paired with someone. You know I haven’t had many people stick around with me.”

Those words seemed to pump confidence into him. Jae Young took in a deep breath and stood up straight. He reached both of his arms out to Eun Ji. “I know we’re not supposed to date but it’s not like anything will change on the outside. I’ll still be there for you when you need me. We’ll still be the world’s best adc support duo making dumb combos and shaking things up for everyone to see. We’ll still be Strawberry Milkshake just a little bit different on the inside.”

Eun Ji could feel her throat choking up. Tears welled up and gathered in her eyes. She hadn’t cried on Mapo bridge in a long time.

“So… Will you let me support and carry you as a boyfriend?” Jae Young’s eyes were soft and wore a delicate smile.

“I…” His hands were still reaching out for Eun Ji to grab. She looked down at the ground as the tears dripped down. They tasted sweet. Without a second thought, Eun Ji leaped forward and hugged Jae Young. Sobbing into his chest and squeezing him tightly. Jae Young wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

The tears didn’t last for long as Eun Ji sniffled a bit. Her head still buried into his chest. “So is that a yes?” Jae Young peeled back a bit to look at her face. He brought a hand to her face and wiped it. Eun Ji looked at him and started to giggle a bit while nodding her head. Jae Young joined in giggling with her moving his forehead to touch hers. “Can I give you a kiss?” Eun Ji nodded again.

Jae Young lifted his head and gently placed his lips on her forehead.  His lips were warm and gentle. His arms held her like a fuzzy blanket in the winter cold. Eun Ji couldn’t feel the cold wind biting at her anymore. The sound of traffic drowned out by the sound of Jae Young’s voice. She wasn’t sure what was happening around her. The only thing that mattered was what was in front of her.

* * *

 

Coach Min sat in the living room tapping on the table. The other coaches were with her talking about practice times and routines to make sure everyone was on schedule. Manager Kang was listening to everything and throwing out suggestions. It was only twenty-one o’clock but most of the house was finishing dinner and getting ready to sleep.

Kyu Won, Se Bin, and Min Woo were sitting on the couch waiting for Jae Young and Eun Ji. The three talked about their days and wondered what was taking so long. “They probably got stuck in rush hour.” Min Woo tossed the TV remote in the air and caught it. “I had to squish through people to try and get back here on time.”

“Same. So many people were passing by I dropped my coffee.” Kyu Won’s leg was shaking. Her arms crossed and slouching on the couch.

“No wonder you’re grouchy noona.” Se Bin leaned back into the couch and sighed.

The doorbell rang throughout the house. Beeps came from the door unlocking it. “Sorry we’re late.” Eun Ji’s voice came from the entrance.

“Had to wait for rush hour to calm down before a bus had room.” Jae Young’s voice rang after Eun Ji’s.

Kyu Won raised and eyebrow. “Oh really?”

Eun Ji skipped into the living room and flopped on the couch next to Kyu Won. Her eyes were watering from the cold air and her nose was bright red. “Yeah I should have brought a scarf to cover my face. It’s so cold right now.” She cupped her hands to her face and breathed into them.

“Well now that we’re all here we can talk about our schedule before the new season starts.” Min Woo sat up and opened up the team tablet.

Jae Young sauntered over and took a seat next to Eun Ji. His nose was also bright red from the weather. “What did coach Min say so far?”

The team began chattering away at their plans for the new season. Each put in their thoughts for all the item changes and new items. Kyu Won sighed and slowly sat up. She glanced at Eun Ji and Jae Young to see their faces. Nothing was out of the ordinary with the two of them. It wasn’t weird that they were both out since they didn’t have many friends outside of the house. She frowned a bit still trying to shake the strange feeling away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hul is slang in Korean. It is kind of like saying OMG in English.  
> **Kimichi refrigerators are a real thing in Korea
> 
> The restaurant SKT is eating at is Uncle Maddio's. Very close to where HRX takes place. There aren't many places in Korea where you make your own food. This explains why SKT has a bit of fascination eating at that pizza place. There are also almost no free refills in Korea either so another fascinating thing.
> 
> It isn't unrealistic for one team to win so many championships because SKT IRL has won a lot.
> 
> Hyun Bin is currently an actor in Korea and I'm not creative enough to make up names so I referenced him here.
> 
> Yes mango flavored popcorn is real and it's pretty good. They also have other kinds of flavors available.
> 
> Movie theaters in Korea are quite different. Before AMC's in America started the whole reserve your seat and it reclines back, Korea had them for quite some time. You buy tickets either online or at the theater and pick out your seats. Each seat is cushy and reclines back. The structure of a theater is different too. When you enter a theater you don't walk in and have to walk up stairs to get to the highest seat. The highest seats are right there when you walk in and you have to walk down to the rest of the seats. At the top there are special designated couple seats. Couple seats have barriers around them so you have that space to yourselves versus being out in the open. Theaters in Korea are a bit different depending on where you go. Some are fancier than others but overall Korean movie theaters are quite an interesting experience.
> 
> There is an unspoken rule about escalators in Korea. One side is for standing still and the other side is for people who want to walk or run. They are the same size as the ones in America because there are two lanes in every escalator. If you and a friend stand next to each other on an escalator instead of standing in front of each other, you are an absolute prick. That is why Eun Ji does not stand next to Jae Young but instead stands behind him to keep the other lane open.
> 
> Rush hour in Seoul is more painful than any rush hour you have seen in America. Trust me. I've been to many big cities in America and none of them compare to Seoul. You just accept that you will be sandwiched where ever you go during rush hour.
> 
> Remember, in their contracts Jae Young and Eun Ji are not allowed to date but they are gonna break the rules.


	8. The world's greatest esport athletes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come meet the best of the best

The new season was a bit rough for SKT. All three SMITE teams were struggling a bit with the new balance changes. By the time the spring split ended, all the teams had pulled back up to the top. Summer split was kicking off and all the teams were busy trying to pull through the rough patch they had.

“They’re announcing a new god soon. What’s been revealed so far is that it will be from the Mayan pantheon.” Min Woo was crunching numbers and analyzing what the latest patch had to offer.

“Well executioner has been taken off the table as an option because all of the other hunter items that they buffed. The physical pen tree got a pretty big nerf making jungling a lot harder.” A female SMITE player was analyzing with Min Woo.

Se Bin frowned at those words. “Hye Ji noona, do you think a shift to magical junglers would be better?”

Hye Ji shrugged. “That would put three magical on a team which, for some reason, almost never works out.”

“It’s a shot in the dark but we’ll have to try it out in practice.” Someone from the male team spoke up.

“Seo Joon’s right.” Eun Ji gave a thumbs up over to Seo Joon. “If it works out in practice, it’ll definitely work out in our games.”

Min Woo nodded and wrote on the team tablet. “Adding magical junglers onto the list of things to practice.”

Jae Young lifted his fist up to Eun Ji and the two did a fist bump. Kyu Won twisted her mouth watching the two. She was still the only one who thought something was off. They didn’t do anything different. Still acting the same way they’ve always been. It just seemed like every once in a while there was something else. Something more.

“Noona pay attention.” Se Bin gently smacked the back of her head. “What do you think of magical junglers? It’ll make switching easier since you know all the mages.”

“Uh yeah. If we swap to magical junglers it’ll be easier to switch. We can do things where I pick a jungler and you pick a mid laner to throw them off.” Kyu Won was just rambling. She shook her head to focus on the meeting.

* * *

Kyu Won impatiently tapped her foot. Min Woo and Se Bin were sitting at the table ignoring her. “I’m serious something’s up!”

Se Bin rolled his eyes and put his phone down. “Noona you’ve been telling us this since January. Now it’s June. It’s literally been half a year.”

“Se Bin is right. You gotta let this go.” Min Woo didn’t put his phone down. “Just concentrate on our games.”

“No!” Kyu Won spun on her heel and pointed at the two of them. “I’m going to prove you two wrong!”

Min Woo and Se Bin looked at each and turned to Kyu Won. “How?”

“You know how every Sunday night they do a special night stream?” Min Woo and Se Bin nodded. “Most of the house goes to bed before they finish. I bet a dinner out at Congdu that if we stay up late we can find out if there really is something going on between them.”

Min Woo and Se Bin gasped. Congdu restaurant was one of the most luxurious, expensive, mouth watering restaurants to go to. Kyu Won’s words were never empty either. If she won, she was expecting a fancy night out. The two looked at each other, paralyzed. Min Woo opened his mouth and sighed. “Ok fine. We’ll do it but if you end up being wrong, we better get the dinner at Congdu instead.”

“Deal! Good thing today is Sunday.” Kyu Won turned around and skipped away.

Se Bin hissed and pretended to hit Min Woo. “What if we actually lose?! I don’t wanna pay that kind of money to noona!”

“We won’t lose ok?” Min Woo hissed back at Se Bin. “She’s just saying that to make us nervous.”

* * *

Twenty-two and a half o’clock. Eun Ji covered her mouth and turned her face away from the camera as she yawned. The late night stream was gonna end soon. The two continued to do ranked joust matches during some streams so fans wouldn’t get bored with conquest. “Ok chat this is definitely our last game.” Eun Ji covered her mouth to yawn again. “I don’t know why I’ve been so tired today.”

Jae Young yawned next and laughed. “Stop spreading it to me.” Blinking a few times to adjust his eyes he watched as the enemy titan fell. “Don’t most of you have to go to school tomorrow? We’re gonna have to adjust how long we stream Sunday night.”

The two waited for the game to wrap up and go back to the client. “Alright Strawberry Milkshake signing off.” They waved at the cameras and shut down the stream.

Eun Ji stretched in her seat and got up. “Ah so late. Maybe we really should adjust our streaming time.”

Jae Young nodded and shut down both of their PCs. “Probably should since it seems like most of our viewers are in school.”

The PCs shut down and the two made their way out of the door. “Do we still have that cake?” Eun Ji pat her stomach and made a little beat. “I’m hungry.”

“I think we do.” Jae Young reached out and grabbed Eun Ji’s hand. “I doubt someone ate it all already.”

Reaching the kitchen, the two took a peek to make sure no one else was there. Seeing that the coast was clear they moved in and turned on the small light by the counter. Jae Young reached in the cabinets for a plate while Eun Ji slid the cake out of the refrigerator. Carefully, she placed the cake on the counter and opened the box up.

Eun Ji giggled a bit and covered her mouth. “I want the piece with the strawberry on it.” Since most of the house was sleeping she had to whisper.

Jae Young grabbed a knife and chuckled. “Obviously.” He leaned in and gently kissed the top of Eun Ji’s head.

In a flash the rest of the kitchen lights turned on. “I KNEW IT!”

Eun Jia and Jae Young screamed quickly covering their mouths. The two turned to where the voice came from to see Kyu Won pointing at them with a grin going ear to ear. Min Woo and Se Bin were behind her with their hands on their face. Eyes bigger than baseballs and mouths hitting the ground.

* * *

Kyu Won’s extremely loud proclamation had a few housemates, several coaches, and Manager Kang in the kitchen. They had moved to the living room as Kang looked down at the Eun Ji and Jae Young. They were on their knees bowing down at him. The rest of the team sat on the couch waiting to see what would happen. The coaches and housemates that were up watched from the edge of the living room.

“So what I’m understanding is that Kyu Won suspected something was going on between you two for half a year now and decided to make a bet with Min Woo and Se Bin. She caught Jae Young kissing Eun Ji on the head after their night stream and has won the bet.” Kang nodded his head and turned to the members on the couch. “What was the bet again?”

Kyu Won sprang up from her seat. “A dinner at Congdu!”

Kang kept nodding his head and looked to Min Woo and Se Bin. There was a sly grin plastered on his face. “Min Woo and Se Bi, do you two have enough money for that?” Hearing Kang say that made the two groan. There was no way Kyu Won was going to go easy on them.

He turned his attention back to the two on the ground bowing. They hadn’t said much and haven’t moved from that position. “As for you two. Everyone knows that in our contracts it states no one is allowed to date. Not even within the same team.”

“Yes sir…” Their voices were hushed and carried weight.

“You two realize if this ever gets out the media will never stop hounding us.”

“Yes sir…”

Kang took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He turned around to the other housemates and coaches. “Has anyone had the thought that they were dating before this event?” The coaches shook their heads while the housemates quickly glanced at each other before answering with a no. Satisfied, Kang looked down at the members on the couch. “And Kyu Won was the only one who thought this. Correct?” Three silently nodded yes to Kang. “Well then.” Kang looked back down at the two bowing. “Since no one suspected anything, I’ll approve it.”

“What?!” Everyone’s heads popped up and leaned in at Kang. The coaches began murmuring amongst each other and the housemates covered their mouths. The three on the couch were about to leap off it. The two on the ground finally broke their bow to look up at Kang.

“I’m serious. If no one here in this house, not even me, suspected anything different than the rest of the public won’t either.”

Eun Ji and Jae Young looked at each other, blinking a few times. There was no way this was real. When they looked back up at Kang, he was smiling. “Thank you manager Kang!” The two bowed one more time before getting up on their feet.

“Just keep on doing what you two have been doing and there won’t be any problems.” With that, Kang walked out of the living room. The coaches slowly shuffled out of the room, gesturing the housemates to go back to their rooms.

Kyu Won waited for everyone to leave before leaping off the couch. “Ok unnie, oppa, you have to tell us everything because as a team we should know what the hell is going on.”

Jae Young scrunched his face and pushed Kyu Won back with his finger. “No way Kyu Won. Take you fancy dinner and accept it.”

“Whaaaaaat?!” Kyu Won faltered back and pouted.

“Hyung’s right. Just tell us when you want dinner.” Min Woo groaned and got off the couch. “I need to check my bank account.”

Se Bin quietly got up and stretched. “Oh hyung I don’t think I can chip in for this on-”

“Oh no you don’t!” Min Woo’s arm shot out and grabbed Se Bin’s shoulder. “I will keep a tab and you will help me pay for this. We were both sucked into this!”

Eun Ji covered her face as she laughed. Jae Young looked down at her and smiled. “Cute.” He leaned in and kissed her on the head.

“Ewwwwww.” The three covered their eyes and took a step back.

“If you don’t wanna see it go to bed!” Jae Young picked up a newspaper and rolled it up. He began swinging it at the three. They softly screamed and began to scatter out of the living room.

“Unnie you’ll tell me everything right?” Kyu Won looked back and reached out to Eun Ji.

“I don’t know about that Kyu Won.” She still had her face covered from laughing.

“Ah no fun!” Quickly ducking Jae Young’s swing before heading upstairs to her room.

Once the three left Jae Young came back to the living room and tossed the paper onto the table. “Do you still want that cake?”

“Mmm… Yeah!” Eun Ji jumped towards the kitchen and Jae Young followed.

* * *

Season two of GSL was coming to an end. Hana was still keeping track of all her favorite athletes, as well as her personal progress. The IEM World Championship and the GSL super tournament all went in the way Hana wanted them to. She was so close to winning all of them but the veterans of Starcraft had beat her. There wasn’t a lot of time before season three started to take a break. Practicing was the only thing she wanted to do. As long as she got better and better there was nothing that was going to stop her. Hana’s fingers mashed the keyboard practicing to raise her APM. She could feel someone grab the sides of her headset and before she could react they were yanked off her head.

“For goodness sakes lower the volume so you can hear me.” It was Tae Yeon’s voice. As usual it was a bit irritated when someone didn’t listen to her.

“Sorry unnie.” Her eyes didn’t leave the screen. “I can win soon.”

“You better.” Tae Yeon put the headset down on the table. “Remember we have to do something today.”

“What is it?” Hana calculated how much longer the game would take.

“You really don’t remember?” That tone of voice scared Hana. She quickly learned that it meant Tae Yeon wasn’t joking around. The house feared her when she used that tone.

Hana’s fingers jumped around a bit more and gently slammed the table as the victory screen came up. “Finally!” Raising her hands up and rolling out of her desk area. She turned to look at Tae Yeon who towered over her. “Sorry unnie I did forget.”

Tae Yeon took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but you’ve been climbing the ranks so fast, you’ve become an idol overnight.” Hana nodded at her words. It seemed unreal that she was the one fangirling and following her idols but now there were people who followed her. “Because of your fame you’ve been invited to your first major photoshoot outside of team stuff.”

THe details were clicking in her head, putting together the puzzle of what was going to happen today. Hana put her hands to her face and gasped. “I can’t believe I forgot!” Tae Yeon slowly nodded and began to head out of the room. “I get to meet some of the greatest esports athletes today and I forgot!”

“My thoughts exactly.” The dry tone didn’t leave her voice. Tae Yeon was beyond pissed at this point. “Hurry up and get changed.”

Hana stood from her seat and turned her PC off. Bolting off past Tae Yeon to get to her room and change. Whatever was bothering her, it wasn’t wise to ask.

* * *

Manager Cheon was chattering with another manager on the phone. She was busy with fighting off other teams from taking contracts. Tae Yeon sighed and placed her forehead on the window. Not too many cars were out so getting to their location shouldn’t take too long. She could feel her hand itching to grab something but there was nothing to grab hold of. A few other teammates were joining the promotion shoot. They sat in the middle row of the van while Tae Yeon and Hana took the back row.

“Unnie…” Tae Yeon could feel Hana trying to reach her hand out to her.

It took a lot of strength to not snap at her. “Yes Hana?”

“Did something happen recently?” She didn’t feel like turning to look at her. Tae Yeon just kept her eyes out on the road.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just irritated over the lack of things I need.” It was partially true but mostly false.

The car continued in silence between the two.

* * *

Hana hadn’t really met too many of the other athletes. Besides the dinner she had with SKT, she mostly stayed within the house. It was like that when she was on Afreeca and all of her previous teams. She spent most of her time practicing to become better. The excitement bubbled up inside of her. She also practiced to call everyone by their real name. Hopefully this makes her more normal and less of a fan.

“Wow Samsung, ROX Tigers, SKT, oh some of my old Afreeca teammates! Ah this is so exciting!” Hana skipped behind Tae Yeon, whose mood seemed to be improving.

“Remember to keep it down. Don’t wanna scare anyone.”

“Right.” Hana took in a deep breath and slowed her skipping into walking. Surveying the area she could see all of her favorites. It took all the willpower in the world to keep the bubbles from foaming over.

Tae Yeon suddenly took a sharp left turn and beelined to wherever she was going. Hana turned her head to look and it was Young Hwa with the rest of SKT. Hana stopped for a second before following her.

“Young Hwa!” Tae Yeon quickly jumped on him and gave a very one-sided hug. “It’s been soooooo long. It’s so good to see you.”

“I wish I could say the same.” The look on his face was horrified. Like he didn’t know what was going to happen. His eyes jumped to Hana and gave her a smile. “Oh hi Hana. What are you doing here?”

“Rude.” Tae Yeon let go of Young Hwa and pouted.

Hana bowed before talking with him. “Hi Young Hwa oppa. I’m here for the promotion thing.”

“Really?” His face looked confused but his voice sounded content. “Interesting.”

“Hurry up or we’ll get yelled at!” The SKT members were ahead of the three and waved for them to come over. The three nodded and jogged over to the rest of SKT.

* * *

Ice cream. It was about ice cream. The whole promotion photoshoot was about ice cream. Companies wanted to get shares and profits from esports so the association approved a few. Of course it’s perfect for the summer time and also a bit late to be promoting ice cream. Hana licked the ice cream she got. There were lots of free samples and many bellyaches to come. It was lunch time but their food wasn’t ready yet. Everyone was just lounging around taking a break.

Tae Yeon walked over to where the ice cream was and grabbed a bar. Hana walked over to her to see if she was feeling better. “Unnie.”

“What’s up Hana.” Her tone was chipper and the frown disappeared. She was definitely in a better mood.

“How are you doing?” It was a weak way to ask her if she was feeling better, but she didn’t want to soil Tae Yeon’s mood.

“I’m about to be a lot better.” She unwrapped the bar and licked it. “I suggest you don’t follow me.”

This only made Hana want to follow her. “What do you mean?”

Tae Yeon put the bar in her mouth and sucked on it. “On second thought, wanna get to know everyone better? So you stop being everyone’s number one fan all the time.”

Getting to know all of the best athletes was the only thing she wanted. “Of course!”

“Good.” Tae Yeon popped the bar out of her mouth and began walking back to where everyone else was hanging out.

Hana watched for who she would approach first. The closer and closer Tae Yeon got, the closer the person became.

“Dae Sung!” Tae Yeon opened her arms and reached out for a hug. Without missing a beat Dae Sung placed his hand on her head and pushed her back.

The last time she met Dae Sung was at the dinner. Tae Yeon and Dae Sung seemed to have an interesting relationship. Hana stayed a few steps back to watch them interact.

“Who invited you here?” Dae Sung was eating a vanilla chocolate cone. The wrapper was still on the cone and barely had a dent in it.

Tae Yeon swirled her bar around and stepped back from Dae Sung. “Excuse you the world’s greatest Starcraft player is automatically invited to everything.”

“You wanna bet?”

Hearing Dae Sung’s voice drop like that sent shivers up Hana’s spine. On stage and in the spotlight he was known to be very quiet. The look of a stone cold, serious athlete who would do what it takes to win. When he did talk it was always brief and swift. The dinner was the first time Hana saw him say more than five words.

“I’ll take that bet any day.” Tae Yeon took the bar and slowly licked it. Sucking at the tip to make a slurp. The bar began to slowly drip down making its way to plopping onto the ground.

Dae Sung watched her suck on the bar with a cocky look. The smug smile casually laying on his face. Hana felt a burn in her cheeks. This is not what she expected on her tour to meet the other pros. Without another word Dae Sung took a step closer to Tae Yeon, locking his eyes with hers. He brought the cone to his mouth and shoved his tongue into it. It caved the ice cream in and created a crevice as he moved it through the cone.

Hana jumped and turned her body away. She didn’t want to see what was going to happen. Instead she looked out to the other athletes who were messing around. Her old Afreeca teammates were tossing a ball around with some other teams. Suddenly, one of them dropped the ball and booked over to the tables. Others followed as managers announced that lunch was ready. Hana didn’t look back at the two and instead jogged over to where everyone else was.

* * *

Afreeca invited Hana to eat with them but Tae Yeon gestured her to sit where she was sitting. It was difficult choice but Afreeca seemed to understand that Hana wanted to get to eat with her new teammate.

“So are your League teams still getting their asses kicked by Samsung?” Tae Yeon took the roll of kimbap and shoved it into her mouth.

“Of course we are!” Sunny from Samsung spoke up from the other end of the table. She swallowed her kimbap and wiped her face. Her stage name wasn’t very far from her real name. It shouldn’t be a problem for Hana to say her real name. “Samsung practiced extra hours to take down SKT.” Her usual sweet, bright personality was non existent. Instead an aggressive and talkative Sunny sat in front of Hana.

“Well,” Jae Young reached out for some dry seaweed in the middle of the table. “Your SMITE teams are still shit since SKT has been beating Samsung to the ground.”

The table snickered at Jae Young’s remark. Sunny stuck her tongue out at him and resumed eating the rice out of her bowl. Eun Ji covered her mouth as she giggled. Jae Young quickly, almost unnoticeably, playfully bumped her shoulder with his.

Tae Yeon smacked her lips and further leaned her head on her arm. “God don’t do that here you two. Are you two dating or something?” Her eyes didn’t even meet theirs. The words came out so effortlessly and dry. Almost like Tae Yeon threw that question at them without expecting a response.

Hana reached for the kimchi and took her eyes off of Tae Yeon. They landed on Jae Young and Eun Ji who sat frozen in their seats. They glanced at each other and back at Tae Yeon. Like deers in headlights. Hana dropped the kimchi she grabbed and slowly put her hands over her mouth. She looked at Dae Sung who looked equally shocked. She darted to Young Hwa who slowly reached out across the table to Tae Yeon. The silence fell onto the table like a fog slowly settling down for the night. Tae Yeon’s eyebrows scrunched together at the silence. Her eyes lifting up to look at Jae Young and Eun Ji.

“No way.” Her head came off of her hand as the rest of her body followed it up and straightened. “There is no fucking way.” Both hands firmly planted down on the table, pushing her body up to lean in. “Are you two actually dat-”

Young Hwa leaped forward and covered her mouth. Dae Sung shushed everyone as gasps escaped mouths. Hana held back the scream lodged in the back of her throat. Her head turned around to make sure the other tables weren’t looking over at them. No other eyes had found their way over to them.

Tae Yeon pushed Young Hwa away and loudly whispered. “What the hell is going on? You two aren’t allowed to date! That was supposed to be the running inside joke of esport athletes when the fuck did it become real?”

An inside joke? Hana went to go get her fallen chopsticks and recover the kimchi she dropped. The question she asked so many years ago had become an inside joke?

“Tae Yeon I swear to god, we have to keep this a secret!” Young Hwa followed with the loud whispering.

Jae Young swallowed the air and leaned into Tae Yeon. “This is not a good place or time for an explanation but if this gets out I will end your life Tae Yeon.” Hana had never heard Jae Young speak like that. His voice was low and menacing. It seemed like he really would snap the lights out of Tae Yeon.

“Oh stop worrying oppa.” Tae Yeon flicked Jae Young’s forehead and went back into her seat. Jae Young scowled as he returned to his seat as well. “None of us are going to tell the media. You two already had a hard time back when the question first came up. If anyone found out it was true, your careers would be over.”

Had a hard time? Hana knew once she asked that question it caused an uproar but she never knew their side of the story. She could feel her heart skip a beat and her face flush out.

“Then let’s change the subject.” Dae Sung’s voice rose from the hushed whispers. “We can have dinner another time for this kind of topic.”

Without skipping a beat the table went back to a regular conversation. Hana sulked back with her bowl of rice. Did they know she was the one who asked that question?

* * *

The cool October breeze swept over the crowd. The League of Legends 2073 World Championships were underway. This year the championships took place in America. Last year it was in Europe and year before they were held in Korea. Lines stretched down the blocks of the LA streets all waiting for the finals to begin.

“I can’t tell if we get more or less people coming to watch each year.” Dae Sung glanced outside the window to see how many eyes would be on them.

“Every season has its ups and downs. I don’t think it’s possible to ever know until the official numbers are released.” The rest of SKT followed behind Dae Sung trying to take a peek at the size of the crowd. “But it seems like this year has more buzz.”

Dae Sung peeled his eyes away from the window to face his team. “Byung Chul that’s because it’s another SKT vs Samsung fight.”

“Then why would you wonder if the crowd is smaller or bigger?” Byung Chul shook his head at Dae Sung.

“SKT thirty minutes!” A voice from afar called for them.

“I don’t know.” He scrunched his shoulders into a shrug. “Felt like wondering.” Dae Sung turned on his heel and headed out to the stage. His teammates followed peeling away from the window and chatting about the games.

* * *

With male, female, and coed teams finals for all games took much longer to finish. They started earlier and ended earlier.

“SKT is going for the backdoor! It’s a base race now before judges call time!”

The game was a push and pull that was reaching close to the forty minute mark.

“The male teams are known for prolonging games and SKT and Samsung are proving that none of them are going to back down.”

“If time is called the team who did the most damage to the Nexus will be the winner of game three and the winner of the Finals!”

The crowd was split chanting for SKT or for Samsung. Split screens showed both teams taking down inhibitors. Minions died before they could even step out of spawning.

“Both teams know if one of them backs the game will pushed back by at least another ten minutes and we don’t have that kind of time.”

Screams and shouts grew with each inhibitor coming down. The chanting for teams became organized and louder. A countdown flipped onto the screen causing the screams to grow.

The countdown flipped onto all the computer screens. Dae Sung’s eyes flicked from the timer back to clearing minions. “Suk Won tank tower damage I can clear waves. Jun Ha shred as fast as you can.”

“Already on it hyung.” Suk Won dashed into tower taking fire from both towers.

“SKT is diving straight into towers. Since Samsung is at their base they won’t be getting any minion waves.”

“This battle comes down to who can tank, clear waves, and shred towers and the nexus the fastest. We only have thirty seconds left before the game is timed out.”

“Byung Chul switch tanking when Suk Won is too low.” Cooldown came up in seconds and Dae Sung cleared minions before the crowd could see them emerge.

“Don’t worry about it hyung. Both towers are gonna be down in a second.” Jun Ha focused the right tower and switched to the left as it fell. “We have enough power to end in ten seconds.”

Suk Won clicked his tongue as he checked their base. “Hate to be a party pooper but Samsung might win if one of us doesn’t back.”

“Saw that a mile ahead of you.”

“Double kill!” SKT jumped in their seats hearing the double kill.

For a split second the crowd had a blanket thrown on them to muffle the screams to a murmur. The blanket was ripped off shortly after hearing the announcement for a triple kill.

“SKT’s Double One has gone back to base without anyone noticing! By the looks of SKT’s face, even his own team didn’t notice.”

“Quadra kill!”

Jun Ha laughed as he took down the inhibitor. “Duri you fucking genius.”

“PENTA KILL!”

People began jumping up and down. Duri ripped his headset off and backed off from his PC. A little shimmy ensued as the victory was announced.

“I can’t believe it SKT has taken out Samsung’s whole team and took out the inhibitor five seconds before the countdown finished! This is one of SKT’s greatest plays and games to ever be recorded.”

SKT was being chanted over and over. A few stayed in their seats upset at Samsung’s loss. Both teams got up from their seats to meet in the middle of the stage.

* * *

“Ugh SKT won…” The backstage rooms were cluttered with snacks and keyboards. The clicking was white noise. The two teams were shaking hands as the announcers dismissed the crowd for a break.

“Are you upset about it Sun Hee?”

Sun Hee leaned back in her chair throwing her head back to look up at the towering figure. “Obviously. The boys were awful this season. It’s a miracle they’re even here unnie.”

“Don’t be so mean to the boys. We’re not any better.”

“That’s where you’re wrong unnie.”

“Hey! Don’t be so mean Sun Hee unnie. Soo Mi unnie is just trying to-”

Sun Hee groaned and rolled her eyes. Her feet kicked off the table she used as a footrest. “I get it Nari. Soo Mi unnie is just trying to be nice to the boys.” Pushing herself up from the chair, Sun Hee turned on her heel to face Nari. Her eyes wandered up to Soo Mi who wore her usual frown. “But that kindness isn’t needed. Especially if they weren’t able to beat SKT in the end.”

“Ya… They were neck and neck. If you aren’t careful with your words you’ll be-”

“Will SKT and Samsung female teams get to their designated areas.” The announcer's voice cut Soo Mi off. Sun Hee shrugged at her and skipped out of the room.

* * *

“The Mimi Lily combo once again has SKT tripping over themselves!” Already game two as SKT’s female team frantically called out attacks. Their fingers mashed buttons as quickly as possible. Chants of Mimi Lily rode over in waves throughout the bright eyed fans.

The camera was switched over to Samsung’s base before flicking back to the team fight. A blue beam swirled down on a ward and the crowd began a new chant. In a second the flash of green burst onto the fight. The announcement of a penta kill chimed from the game. The mess of ‘sunny day’ roared from the crowd.

“Sunny came in with the teleport only to use the classic Riven stun ult combo on SKT! Timers are at a minute now which is enough time for Samsung to storm into SKT’s base and take game two!”

Sun Hee grinned in her chair as she rapidly mashed at her mouse to get into the base. “Soo Mi unnie ult ult ult!”

“I am ulting!” Soo Mi rolled her eyes as the screens panned over to the exploding nexus.

“And Samsung wins! The female team wins this years World Championship!”

Sun Hee jumped from her seat and spun around. The crowd chanted ‘sunny day’ one last time before she bowed. The rest of her team slowly got up one at a time to come together for a hug. Nothing could top this moment for Sun Hee. She was the shining star of the show.

* * *

Hana turned the TV off and rolled off the couch. The countdown for the World Championship Series Global Final was coming to its end. League was just about wrapping things up which meant it was time for Starcraft. Slipping on her slippers, Hana shuffled over to the PC room. Everyone was there practicing for their shot at the finals.

“There you are. Done fangirling over Sun Hee aka the worst top laner in League history?” Tae Yeon leaned back in her chair to watch Hana move to her PC.

“Please, she’s the greatest and she reminded me to work harder for our finals.” In a single motion Hana pulled out her chair and turned her PC on. “I’m gonna work to beat you unnie!”

Tae Yeon laughed and went back to her screen. “You wish.”

Starcraft was opened immediately. Hana swiveled to her screen and smirked. “Just watch me unnie.”


	9. The world's greatest Starcraft player

The 2073 Starcraft 2 World Championship Series Global Finals finally arrived. The Korean team went out to dinner before the quarterfinals began the next day. Hana sat next to Tae Yeon who was chatting away with Young Hwa.

Since Starcraft was a solo player game there was no need to make seperate divisions and teams only sent a few players a year. Back when female teams were first introduced Starcraft had a male and female division. However, after coed teams were introduced they abandoned the divisions and had everyone just play against each other. It made it easier for the solo game and allowed for more competition since only a handful of players could get into major tournaments. Jin Air Green Wings sent both Tae Yeon and Hana to Worlds to represent the team.

“Hey so why did your team both you and Hana?” Young Hwa’s voice chimed in all of a sudden. “Usually teams just send in one person to rep them for the national team.”

Tae Yeon clicked her tongue. “Beats me. I told them to just send one of us but manager Cheon insisted on the both of us.” The usual snap in her voice was present. Hana just looked at her food instead of the rest of the table. Tae Yeon was still visibly upset about the decision for both of them to be sent.

“Ha! That just means Hana is getting good.” Young Hwa ate his own words as Tae Yeon kicked his shin under the table.

“It just means we’re both so good they couldn’t pick.” Tae Yeon’s word were joking around but her tone was the opposite. Hana just kept picking at her food. It was best to not say anything when Tae Yeon was this way.

* * *

“And D.Va wins game two!” A crowd erupted as the split screen showed the defeat and victory animation. “Only fifteen minutes into the game and D.Va has cornered SkyBlue from all sides.”

Hana took her headset off and turned to leave her booth. SkyBlue followed and the two met at the center of the stage. “Good game SkyBlue!”

SkyBlue laughed. “You didn’t let me have much of a fight. You have real talent.”

Hana smiled at his words. The two shook hands and the stage lights dimmed cueing them to leave. There were about thirty minutes before the next game started.

* * *

Tae Yeon sauntered back to the waiting room as the announcers talked about the quarterfinals. Nearing the room she could hear voices with accents all speaking in English. Not a single English speaking player ever made it to Worlds but everyone spoke to each other in English anyways. It was easier for everyone and everyone wanted to better their English anyways.

“Thank you so much!” Hana’s voice was always louder than everyone else’s. Her pronunciation was getting better.

Turning on her heel, Tae Yeon faced into the room. “Oh there she is!” SkyBlue waved at her. “Good game Taengoo!”

“Thanks man!” She gave a thumbs up towards him. It’s been a while since she’s spoken in English. Tae Yeon continued to saunter over to an empty seat next to Young Hwa.

“Where have you been?” Not even looking up at his phone, Young Hwa pushed the chair Tae Yeon wanted closer to her. “Talking behind our backs to the organizers of Starcraft competition?”

Tae Yeon’s foot snuck under the chair as she pulled it towards her. “Ha ha you’re so funny.” Plopping down into the chair backwards.

“Tomorrow at the semifinals the first game is going to be HyuN versus D.Va.” The room came down to a hush to listen to the opinions of the announcers. “HyuN has always shown strong games I have no doubt in my mind he’ll be able to pull through to the finals again.”

“Yeah but he’s never won past the finals.” The announcers laughed and continued commenting.

Tae Yeon snorted and turned her eyes to Young Hwa. He was glued to his phone. “How does it feel to have people rooting for you?”

“I don’t know…” He shrugged and swiped his finger across his phone.

There was a pause before Tae Yeon groaned and turned her head back to the TV. “Fine don’t tell me.” She glanced over to see Young Hwa give her an ok sign.

* * *

Hana patted her face down with more powder. Her whiskers needed to be in perfect position before going out.

“Song Hana hurry up. The match starts in ten minutes.” The voice of the stage manager muffled from behind the door.

“Thank you!” One last look in the mirror to make sure everything was perfect. Her uniform was crisp, hair under control, and whiskers in place. Hana got up and turned on her heel to the door. It was time to show the world who she was.

* * *

“I can’t believe that the first game was taken by D.Va!”

“Not a surprise seeing that she has been able to take the first win in all of her matches for the Global Finals.”

“She only has to win two more games and HyuN needs to start playing catch up.”

“Looks like D.Va is hitting the random.” The screen rolled through the three races before slowing down and landing on one. “And D.Va’s random choice for this game is… Terran!”

The crowd clapped as the game countdown began. Hana looked up from her PC to look at Young Hwa in is booth. The soft smile he wore before each match was effortless. A smile to deceive opponents and make them think he was a kind soul. Hana’s eyes snapped back to her screen. There was no way she was going to let her guard down.

* * *

The twenty minute mark passed by. Hana had the advantage over Young Hwa. Her next moves had to be calculated perfectly or else Young Hwa could easily turn the battle in his favor. Her eyes darted to different bases and camps from her side and Young Hwa’s. Her fingers zipping between keys. Hana calculated Young Hwa’s highest APM with his team’s current position. In a split second she saw a hole in Young Hwa’s defense. Without a second thought Hana sent ten small groups to attack from different angles.

“D.Va seems to be sending out groups into random directions.” The crowd split their chanting between D.Va and HyuN. “She’s sent them to go in all sorts of directions towards HyuN’s bases.”

Hana watched as Young Hwa sent a wave to go and stop the small groups she had sent out. “Sorry oppa!” Without looking at her bases, she continued to push forward with the groups she sent out. Occasionally sending out a handful more as the time ticked.

“HyuN doesn’t have the resources to stop D.Va!” Everyone was chanting for D.Va now as the screens panned over to Young Hwa’s failing base. “And D.Va takes game two! Meaning she only needs one more game to move onto the finals!” The victory animation played out with waves in the crowd erupting. Hana fell into her chair and pumped a fist up. No one could hear her cheering in her booth but it didn’t hurt to let out a victory cry. “HyuN was completely stomped by D.Va in those last few minutes. He can still take game three to catch up to her.”

Looking over from her booth, Hana could see Young Hwa ruffling his hair up. His cheeks puffed up before letting out the air in a burst. Game three was going to be hers no matter what.

Tae Yeon watched from the back. The area for other athletes to sit in was filled with murmurs. No one had seen Young Hwa lose like that before. Gripping at her phone she looked down at Young Hwa and sighed. “Come on… You got this…” Breathing the words out from her nose. The crowd was excited and a few fans held up signs for him. Tae Yeon could see his fingers twitching as he waved at the crowd. Game three was going to start soon.

* * *

“They are neck and neck once again during the mid game.” The announcers bounced back and forth on what was happening in the game. Tae Yeon watched Young Hwa hit five hundred APM. Tracking the movements with her own hands to see his end game. Her eyes wandered over to Hana to watch her movements. The random had picked Protoss for her. A battle over who was the better Protoss player. The one who had played his entire career as Protoss or the one who was a random pick. Tae Yeon’s fingers began to mimic Hana’s to realize she was hitting under five hundred APM. None of her movements made sense. Playing out her strategy, Tae Yeon’s hands stopped as she looked up at the screens.

“Wait did D.Va just-”

“Oh no…” Tae Yeon watched as Hana charged into Young Hwa’s base.

Hana counted down her troops and sent them in towards Young Hwa.

“She used HyuN’s own strategy against him! Going for a mid game full on assault with Protoss is not only almost never heard of, it’s a risky move.” Cheering was split over who would win the fight. Devoted fans would wabe their signs up even if they couldn’t see them.

Tae Yeon’s attention shifted from the screens, to Young Hwa, and over to Hana. The cheers from his fans drowned in her own mind as she watched Young Hwa grow more concerned. A lump in her heart dropped down to her stomach.

“D.Va has just pushed through all of his defenses!” Announcers couldn’t stop spitting out what was going on.

Hana’s lips curled up as she hit six hundred APM. “Yes yes yes yes!”

Young Hwa’s teeth clenched down. Sucking in his bottom lip and crunching down on it.

Young Hwa slammed his fists onto the table. The mouse he used jumped and flipped over. In a second his base exploded. Ina swift motion he swiveled from his chair and stormed out of his booth.

“HyuN is checking out before he even has a chance to see his own defeat!”

Tae Yeon jumped from her seat and ran out of the viewing area.

Hana jumped from her seat, causing her table to jump with her. She looked out at the crowd waving signs and light sticks. Turning to leave her booth, her eyes looked over to see Young Hwa’s booth empty. “What…” She looked around for a second before stepping out of her booth and going out to the center of the stage.

* * *

“Young Hwa!” Tae Yeon ran down the hall. “Young Hwa!” She could see his back and the large strides he was taking. “Im Young Hwa!” Reaching her arm out, she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back to turn him around. “Young Hwa what the hell are you doi-”

Bloodshot eyes filled with tears. Anymore and it break the dam he had built up. A stream of red dripped down his lips building under his teeth. Tae Yeon lifted her hands to reach for Young Hwa’s face. Fingers shaking as she cupped her hands around his cheeks. Her thumbs gently pushed under his eyes and sweeped the tears he had built up. His teeth dug into his lip pushing the blood that was built up onto his chin.

“Let’s go…” Pushing the rest of the tears away with her thumbs. Tae Yeon reached out to grab his hands and pulled him away. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

* * *

The bleeding had stopped. Young Hwa’s fingers grazed over his lip. Watching them daintily dance over the cut. The door beeped and jostled open as Tae Yeon entered with ice packs in hand. “Here.” She placed the ice packs into his hands and reached into her pocket. A small balm was produced and opened. “This is going to help the cut and the ice to stop the swelling.” Her pinky finger swirled in the balm for a second before lifting up to spread it across his bottom lip. “Are you feeling better?”

Once her finger lifted up from his lip, Young Hwa pulled the ice pack to his face. “No.”

“Do you want to go and ge-”

“No.” Quickly, he turned on his heel and walked over to farthest bed of the hotel room. Plopping himself down on the other side so Tae Yeon couldn’t see him.

Tae Yeon slowly blinked. Washing the balm off her hand and making her way over to the sulking Young Hwa. She sat down next to him and leaned her head into his shoulder. Beats of silence took over the room.

“Maybe I’m just no good.”

“Hm?” The words made Tae Yeon look up. Young Hwa adjusted the ice pack around his lip. Tears filled up his eyes again.

“I’ve been runner-up in every season and tournament.” Gasps filled in between his words. “None of my practice means anything if I can’t advance my skills past runner-up.”

Tae Yeon opened her mouth only to close it.

“Everyone around me just runs faster… I can’t keep up.”

The dams broke again. Tears streamed down his face as loud gasps filled in for his breathing. Tae Yeon furrowed her eyebrows. The sobbing was unbearable. She wrapped her arms around Young Hwa and squeezed him tight.

* * *

“Taengoo takes game four and moves onto the finals!” Tae Yeon stood up from her chair and left the booth. The crowd chanted her name and cheered as she waved at them. Meeting up with her opponent in the center and shaking hands. The two left the stage and the announcers showed up on the screen.

“Tomorrow at the finals is going to be interesting.”

“Yes it will be D.Va versus Taengoo. Both are apart of Jun Air Green Wings.”

“I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before!”

“Starcraft has been a pro sport for decades and never has two from the same team versed each other.”

“The brackets are typically created to avoid this if there is more than one member from a team, however this just proves that Jin Air Green Wings really put their backs into creating some of the best Starcraft players the world has ever seen!”

“Yes seems like this was unavoidable. Taengoo has won the past two Globals so no surprise in her making it this far. And D.Va is the hot new blood that has been tearing up the competition this past year.”

“You definitely don’t want to miss tomorrow’s game!”

* * *

Tae Yeon tossed another ice pack to Young Hwa and plopped onto the bed next to him. “How are you doing?”

“I have to wear sunglasses and a mask if I want to go outside.” Young Hwa scrolled down different feeds on his laptop. “I’m a fucking idiot…”

“Stop that.” Tae Yeon popped up and took the old ice pack from his hand.

“I got up and left before the victory animation played.” Young Hwa grabbed the new ice pack and place it over his lips. “I look like a sore loser.”

“They’re going to keep making up these stories. I’m sure your team is doing damage control already.” Her eyes skimmed different articles and threads. Most talking about lame Young Hwa appeared for leaving after losing. Slowly leaning in and resting her chin onto his shoulder. “Ya…” The breath from her whisper tickling his ear. “We’re still hanging out at Disneyland in two days right?”

Young Hwa sighed and pushed her head away from his ear. “Obviously.”

* * *

Hana sat in front of the mirror holding the a small makeup brush in her hand. A million thoughts raced through her mind. Would unnie hate her if she won? What would happen to them after the outcome? Would manager Cheon drop one of their contracts?

“Song Hana.” The voice muffled behind the door made Hana jump. “Hurry up you only have a few more minutes.”

“Ok!” Turning back to the mirror and lightly smacking her face. “Game face on!” There wasn’t time to worry anymore.

Hana skipped out of the changing room and to her place. The announcers were getting the audience riled up. “Now the match you have all been waiting for. A historical one for sure. Two members of Jin Air Green Wings will be competing against each other for the title of champion!” Hana took in a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds. “D.Va versus Taengoo!”

The light turned green and Hana jumped out from behind stage. The crowd was screaming as the two entered the stage. Hana jumped up and down, waving and smiling to the entire stadium. Her eyes landed on Tae Yeon as she gracefully walked to the center. She occasionally blew out a kiss and gave out small hearts to the audience.

Hana hopped into the booth and sighed. Headset was placed on and she typed in the game code given to her. Looking up once more to Tae Yeon who was doing the same. “Alright Hana just remember.” The game loaded and race selection screen popped up. “If you play games, you have to win!”

* * *

“Game seven is rolling in.” There was a fatigued cheer from the crowd. “Playing through all seven games is a rare sight. But both D.Va and Taengoo aren’t letting up.”

“This is going to be the game that decides it all. They pushed and pulled throughout each game.”

Tae Yeon selected Zerg and stretched. There was a break after game three and six. It had been over three hours of continuous matches.

“It appears that D.Va’s random pick will be…” The screen showed the randomizer scrolling through the races. Slowing down and landing on Zerg. “Zerg! We have a fight between Zerg and Zerg!” The crowd cheered as the game loaded.

“Of course…” Tae Yeon rolled her head around, cracking her neck.

Hana took in a deep breath. “Sorry unnie.”

* * *

“Taengoo has been relentless with her hordes.” Fifteen minute mark passed. “Each horde has done a sizable amount of damage to D.Va’s defense and offense.”

“It just seems like D.Va can’t keep up with the master of the Zerg race.”

Tae Yeon hit over six hundred APM. Sending supplies and hordes to her bases as quickly as possible. The game had to end soon.

The sixteen minute mark soon flipped onto the screen. “At this point it’s a race to see who’s hordes can outlast the other.”

“D.Va hasn’t been sending as many and doesn’t seem to be producing as many to attack Taengoo properly.”

Hana’s lips turned up. “Almost there…”

“I don’t know this game is in favor for Taengoo. She’s been relentlessly attacking D.Va and hasn’t been slowing down. D.Va just can’t keep up!”

“But all of her hordes have been smaller than her usual hordes. It doesn’t help in the long run especially with how long the game is running.”

“They’re both on the same team and train under the same roof. These two know each other's strength and weaknesses.”

“In my honest opinion it looks like this game will-”

“OH MY GOD!” In a split second the crowd started screaming.

“D.Va has just sent out a massive horde!”

Screens switched over to the side Hana’s bases sat. A giant horde of different Zerg species towards Tae Yeon.

“What?!” Tae Yeon switched the camera in flashes to her different bases and to Hana’s horde. Sending the few hordes she had onto important defense points.

From the special seating, Young Hwa stared at Tae Yeon, watching her fingers. “Don’t get nervous now.” Speaking with his breath.

“I don’t think Taengoo has the numbers to defend!”

The clicking from the keyboard grew and pierced through Tae Yeon’s headset.

“D.Va is knocking down Taengoo’s defense without a struggle. A handful of Banelings sent to front lines to blow up Taengoo’s structures before the rest of her horde comes to bring them to the ground!”

Hana’s lips spread past her bunny whiskers, curling them up on her cheeks.

Tae Yeon zipped the camera from Hana’s horde to her base. Momentum grew the more buildings fell. Sending the few hordes she had to start taking out the backline of Hana’s horde.

“Taengoo only has about ten buildings left and has shifted her attention to taking out the backline and the frontline of D.Va’s horde.”

“It’s not going to be enough since D.Va just ate two more buildings!”

The cameras panned along with the giant horde. Chants for D.Va took over and drowned the ones for Taengoo.

Tae Yeon shifted back and forth from the frontline and the backline. She had to take out more. Another building fell under the horde and another. The small hordes she had shriveled up and there weren’t any more dens or spawning pools for Tae Yeon to use. Three more structures fell under to the horde. She had only been able to take out thirty percent of what Hana had sent. The handful of Zerglings she had left could only nibble at the horde.

“Taengoo only has one building left!”

Hana was grinning. Her horde shredded at what Tae Yeon had left. “Yes yes yes!” Her hands flying into the air before the game ended.

“NO!” The last building Tae Yeon had crumbled.

“And D.Va wins the 2073 Starcraft 2 Global Championships!”

The crowd erupted. Many jumping up from their seats, throwing their hands up and chanting. Hana burst from her chair. The headset tugging off her head as she jumped from the small booth. Without a second thought, she raced out of the booth and ran to center stage. The announcers were spitting out words to fill the space with even more noise. Hana skipped around the stage, waving her arms and spinning around to the crowd and fans. As she spun around her eyes landed on Tae Yeon. Sitting in her booth, hands covering her face, elbows grinding into the desk, hunched over with the headset slipping off. The crowd’s cheering fell several octaves, slowing down to a crawl. Hana could feel the momentum in her spin come to a halt. Tae Yeon’s finger curled one by one.

Someone’s hand landed on Hana’s shoulder. The crowd’s pitch returned to normal as the headset on Tae Yeon fell off. “Hana get to the center.” The stage assitant began to pull her away.

“But what about unnie?” Her eyes darted between the assistant and Tae Yeon, watching her get up from the booth and leave.

“Don’t worry about her, this is your time.” Before there was protest, the assistant had successfully taken her attention away from Tae Yeon and towards the sea of arms.

Young Hwa signed and pushed himself up from his seat.

“Give it up for the new Champion of Starcraft!” Once again causing the crowd to erupt.

Hana slowly walked towards the trophy. One foot in front of the other. Arms reaching out to the looming Starcraft logo. Once her fingers touched the surface a grin grew on her face. Both hands grabbed the trophy, lifting it up into the air. Taking in a deep breath before yelling as loud as she could towards the mic. “I play to win!” More eruptions flowed throughout the crowd. Hana could feel her heart flying as her smile widened. Eyes were on her. Cheers were for her. The trophy was for her. It was all for her.

* * *

It didn’t take long to catch up to her. Young Hwa took three large strides to meet her and shortened them to keep her pace. “Tae Yeon let-”

Suddenly grabbing his hand and increasing her stride. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” Stumbling to suddenly walk faster.

“Where ever will serve me the strongest drink.” Her stride breaking into a jog. Young Hwa nodded as he continued to be dragged down the hall.

* * *

The dinner started and Hana ran across the parking lot. Interviews, photo ops, meeting fans took hours before she was released to go an eat. Everyone was waiting for her at the restaurant. There was no time to check her makeup. Her arms pushed the door open as she burst in.

“There she is!” A German player spoke up as she came in. The other Starcraft players began clapping. “Congrats D.Va! You earned it!”

Hana rubbed the back of her and giggled. “Thank you! It’s so crazy!”

“I bet it is!” He gestured to come over to the table. It didn’t take long for the rest of the table to begin chatting it up with her.

* * *

Hana spent the night being pulled in every direction. Visiting each table to talk with every player. Now she stood at one with a mix of Korean players and European players.

“Oh my god did you see how both Taengoo and HyuN just left after they lost? So pathetic.” An old teammate from Afreeca brought up the topic everyone was avoiding.

“Don’t be hard on them.” A Swedish player chimed in.

“What do you think D.Va?”

Hana had plenty of thoughts. “Uh… I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with either of them.”

“Isn’t Taengoo your teammate?”

“Yeah but-”

“Just go talk to them.” A different Korean player chimed up. “I mean they’re sitting in the back.” He pointed to the back of the restaurant at a lone table. Tae Yeon and Young Hwa sat there by themselves eating at appetizers.

Hana watched them for a second. “Well,” Turning her head back to the table with a frown. “Don’t they always sit in the back of the restaurant?”

“Yes.” The Swedish player again. “Which is why there’s no reason to be so mean to them.”

“Yeah but before they would at least make an effort to socialize.”

Hana frowned at what the conversation turned into.

“Are they dating or some shit? They’re always together.”

“Of course they’re not dating they-” Hana stopped herself. Thinking back to her first night at the house. Tae Yeon had told her about Young Hwa in confidence. Only a handful of pros knew who Tae Yeon was. “They’re just good friends ok? They’ve been playing Star for years now.”

“Whatever.” Her former teammate snapped back.

Hana looked back to the lone table to see it empty. Letting out a heavy sigh she waved bye to the table and moved to the next one.

* * *

Hana kept tapping at her phone. Scrolling through the messages she sent to Tae Yeon. Last year she spent the Disneyland day with old teammates. She had hoped to spend it with Tae Yeon this year.

“Come on Hana!” The same old teammate from last night waved to her. “We have to get pictures with all the princesses!”

“Alright!” Lightly jogging to catch up with her.

“Are you still checking to see if Tae Yeon sunbae responded back?”

“Well… Yeah… I wanted to hang out with her…” Hana locked her phone and put it in her purse.

“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed her wrist. “Forget about her. You’re better than her in Star and at being social so just let it go.”

Before Hana could protest, she was being taken through the entrance of the park. She would just have to catch up with Tae Yeon later.


End file.
